UFO Club Part Two

That was all pretty exciting stuff in yesterday's post. And I've got even more great projects in progress to share with you today. I just love how everyone has stepped up to the plate with a bit of peer pressure and that mighty sum of $10 per month!

Let's start with Sharon. This is truly a UFO since it was started around 2000. It's hand applique, and it's a totally crazy amount of work. It's the Piecemaker's Calendar from 2000.

Her goal for this past month was to get the background completed for the double-wide block in the middle of the bottom row. She got that completed. The train station is what goes on next.

The background of the double-wide block in the bottom row

I asked her to send us a picture of the entire project, and this is what it looks like to date. Isn't that spectacular?? I just love this quilt. The detail is impressive. Funny how it's sat for so long untouched, and now just this year, Sharon has made significant progress. While she's very close to the end, there's still a lot of work to do, but we're not going to say that too loudly.

Sharon's Piecemaker calendar 

She's taking a well-deserved break from the calendar quilt, and her goal for the month is to add two borders to the grey shop hop quilt from a couple of years ago.

Ronda's goal for the month was to quilt this project. I keep calling it a table runner, but it's much larger than that. It's a large wall hanging and take note of the Canadian themed backing. She's using her embroidery machine and some purchased patterns for quilting in the hoop to get it quilted.
That's OK as we don't care how the work gets done as long as it gets done.

Ronda's wall hanging - DONE

Here's the final project. The binding is on! Just in time for Canada Day next week!

Canada flag wall hanging

Her goal for next month is nothing! But I do know she'll have some show n tell for our next UFO club meeting.

Lynne's goal last month was to quilt a baby quilt. I believe it started as a panel, and we all agreed that it could be quilted as it was—no need to make anything fancy for a baby.

Like Ronda, she's also using the embroidery machine to do the quilting. In case you think that's easy, it's got its own challenges, and there's "some" math required before you get started, and then once the math is out of the way, you have to become a very good hooper to make the project look OK. Both of them have become very proficient at it!

Lynne's baby quilt

While I like the quilt, this is the part of Lynne's quilt that I LOVE. She always makes a pillow or a pillowcase for all the quilts that she gives away. She used her embroidery machine to stitch out the giraffe. Isn't it adorable?

The front of the pillow

The back of the pillow

I guess I should call it a pillowcase? Anyway, the quilt is INSIDE the pillowcase. That's such a brilliant thing to do. It uses up leftover fabric, the recipient gets a bonus pillow (just insert a pillow form), and it's much prettier than nothing!

Lynne has big goals for July. Actually, she's going to start on her Dream Big panel. Her goal is to get the first (of 52) designs stitched. The first is the hardest because you have to think about the thread, batting, and a few other details. Plus, the rest of the designs rely on the positioning of that first one. No pressure Lynne!!

Laura is doing a great job with her UFO project. She's carrying on with PRISM squared quilt, and we're going to see the end soon. Her goal was to get this outer border cut and sewn together.

The outer border 

The job for next month is to get the outer border attached to the circle.

The circle and the outer border

We had a discussion about the quilt. I think this is one of those projects that the longer she works on it, the more she is getting to hate it! It is a CHALLENGING project. Lots of work, lots of fiddly bits. She's so close!!!  There is another narrow pieced border on the outside of the diagonally pieced one. We all agree with Laura that a plain border would be better. The center is also filled with lots of little pieces, and we all decided that one solid center (same color as the new outer border) would work just fine!! There's absolutely no reason that things can't be simplified to get the project done.

Elaine S had a bit of a different goal this past month. One of her goals was to clean up her sewing studio. Yes - I think we can all relate to that. It's so easy to let things pile up, and soon you have no room to work.

Here are some before pictures.

It looks like you can barely get in the door!!!

The cutting table is piled with stuff

The sewing table doesn't look too bad, but still looks like lots of bits

And this corner takes the prize. Although look at those baskets in the closet. My favorite organizing tool!

The jackpot of disorganization

It's incredible how the floor becomes such a convenient spot to put stuff!!

This is what it looks like now. Here's the sewing station with some room to actually sew the borders on a large quilt.

The sewing station

 The cutting surface contains the stuff that Elaine is currently working on. Not perfect, but much better.

The current project on the cutting table

But look at the difference here. It looks so much more inviting when you see stuff off the floor.

The corner is clean!

 As I mentioned yesterday, I'd love to have all my UFOs sorted by those categories in yesterday's post. Then the projects that I'm not working on would be put in labeled boxes and stored out of sight! Then when I finish the laundry basket of weekly work (which is still sitting in Studio U), I could "shop" for a new project. That's coming. Oh, yes - I'm determined.

Here's a sewing project that Elaine also had on her list for this month. This is a Row by Row row from 2015 when the theme was H2O (in other words - water!). 

Row by Row block - DONE

She has three goals for next month. She has a wall hanging that was started at Quilt Canada (years ago) that she wants to finish quilting. There are FIVE borders to add to Stitcher's Garden quilt and Starry Night quilt that needs to be quilted. Yikes - that's a LOT of work.

Diane T, unfortunately, did not meet her goal for the month, which was to finish off 2 placemats. So she did have to cough up $10. Which isn't a huge deal as it goes into our kitty for our lunch at the end of the year.

Diane also works full time and has been working all during the pandemic. And things happen!

She does have a goal for next month, and that is to make another peacock pillow like she had made a couple of months ago.


I still have four more people to cover, but there isn't time this morning. You'll get to see the rest of the UFO work tomorrow. I tell you, we have some pretty motivated people in the group. That's so exciting, and I hope that more of you join us for next year. It's a lot of fun as we get to ooh and aah over the finished or closer to being finished projects.

And so it's time to get moving! I'm excited as yes - I'm leaving the house for a couple of days. I don't care if I do nothing but sit on the deck. It's just going to be so different to be somewhere else. Masks are required!!!

On that note, I'm out of here.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

UFO Club

UFOs. These are not unidentified objects in the sky. Nope - these are UNFINISHED sewing projects in our sewing spaces. You know - the quilts that we were so excited about starting, only to abandon them when we ran into a problem, ran out of time, or the reason for making the project didn't exist any longer. Yep - there are loads of reasons why stuff becomes a UFO. 

Many times, that project gets shelved with little or no instructions on what happened or where you were. When you open the project box, it looks like a huge jumbled mess and where are you going to start. Often, that project gets put back on the shelf as it's too daunting to tackle.

That's what happens when YOU open that box, and you're the one that at least worked on it to some extent. Imagine if a complete stranger opened that box. Would they feel sorry for that project and try to resurrect it, or would they just pick out the yardage and toss the rest?

I'm as guilty as the next quilter for having UFOs. I actually have a couple of categories of projects sitting around.

• Kits - these are items that I purchased with fabric and pattern and haven't started. I'm not worried about those as someone could easily pick it up and start from scratch. 
• Pulled fabric - not started. I know there are fancy acronyms for all these - I don't care. I'm not worried about these either, although it would be good to get them sorted and all in one place. I'm going to be getting some clear plastic tubs this weekend (passed along to me by someone), so that will help with the sorting rather than putting in cardboard boxes. Actually, it would be good to scour the shelves for these projects and make a decision - yes, I want to make it, and then it goes in the box. Or NO - I don't want to make it, and the fabric and patterns and whatever else is in the box get shelved. 
• Non-complex UFOs - these are just ordinary quilt tops. Nothing fancy, no applique, easy piecing and just got abandoned for whatever reason. 
• COMPLEX UFOs - these are the big projects - the ones that will take a few months (or more) to finish. 

I'm focusing on the COMPLEX UFOs. The ones that'll take a while to finish or there was a significant problem with it.

The UFO club is helping enormously to work my way through this problem. Actually, I'd like to see a list of the UFOs broken down, as listed above. I just like lists. I focus on the complex UFOs with the club, but I'm still working on the non-complex UFOs on the side. I'm not touching the pulled fabric or kit options at this time.

I would say there are a lot of people in the same boat as me. We need a divide and conquer approach to get it all done. Imagine not having any UFOs? I can only dream - but I'm working on it!

Today, I'm going to share with you the progress in our UFO club from the weekend. Some amazing stuff happening.


This is a flannel quilt that Dede worked on. She needed to add that last border and then quilt it. Adding the border wasn't an issue, but quilting it herself? That was HUGE. While she's not happy with the quilting, it's done. Here's the thing - if you don't start with some smaller and less important projects to practice your quilting on - then guess what? You'll never get better.

Dede's flannel quilt

Here's the beauty of the UFO club. Not only can you get advice from the others in the group, but I offer up lots of tips to help with whatever area they need help with.

While we're not officially meeting in July (in other words, if we don't meet our commitment, there's no financial penalty involved), we all agreed that we wanted to continue to meet as we're on a roll. That is music to my ears!!!!!

So this Dede's next project. A very complex quilt with loads of pieces. 

Patchwork Sampler quilt pattern

The good news is that the top (minus the borders) is DONE. It's stunning. Her commitment is to get the half-square triangles in the middle border done. We chatted about which fabric to put in the first and third borders. Yep - we help with everything.

Dede's version of Patchwork Sampler

Susan is working on Farm Girl Vintage. This past month, she made a commitment to get five 6" blocks completed.

And here are her five blocks. I had to laugh because I got pictures of four of the blocks, and where was the fifth block?? Oh - it got finished minutes before our meeting. Thankfully, she was able to show us on the camera!!

Strawberry jam block

Scrappy strawberry

Not sure the name of this block, but look at those flowers!!!!

And her trailer is right on the water. Now how fun to sit by the water and sew. Yep - that's the beauty of the virtual UFO club. Usually, we're not virtual, but because of the current situation, we are virtual. That way, as long as you have access to the internet, you can join us!!!

Another block 

I see some of these are NOT the specific blocks that she listed for this month. Do I care? No - I'm good with five blocks being done. Notice Susan's little design boards as well. She made those from instructions by Lori Holt.

Here's the fifth block from Farm Girl Vintage

OH, Susan's goal for July - NOTHING!!! And that's OK. There was originally no meeting, so no goal is OK. Each person sets their own goals. Unless there's a very good reason, a goal of NOTHING is not acceptable during the months where the money is involved.

Jane was to applique three sailboats on a quilt. Apparently, they got appliqued in place. While she didn't have the quilt to show us, we did get to see the e-mail she sent to her long arm quilter with instructions for quilting it. We'll just have to take her word on that one - I trust her! Should I???

And she was to get 6 more blocks completed on her Christmas tree quilt. Here are the 6 blocks.

Jane's quilted trees

More quilted trees

Now here's the thing with Jane's tree quilt. She has NEVER quilted anything this large before. And she's getting it done, even though it's getting done at the last possible minute to make the deadline. I swear we have a penalty of $100, not $10. It doesn't matter - these projects are getting completed.

She's using her walking foot to echo quilt around the trees, one block at a time. I'm very impressed. 

And even more quilted trees

 Jane's goal for next month is to get the borders on a quilt that was assembled by some middle school students where Jane helped out in the classroom and to get the binding on another quilt.


Linda's goal was to assemble this Wizard of Oz quilt top. She had purchased the kit a while back.

Wizard of Oz quilt top - DONE

It's such a great feeling to get these blocks or tops or whatever advanced. A massive sense of accomplishment, to say the least. Her goal for next month is to get one of her MANY Christmas quilts quilted. I believe we settled on High Strung, which I know she made years ago!!!

Then there was me. My goal was to get the nine blocks put together for the Let Sleeping Dogs Lie quilt. It's a snail's trail block. The nine blocks are assembled. But yes - they did get finished early that morning. I'm happy with the contrast in all of these blocks, so nothing will get ripped out. The block that I didn't like is already ripped apart.

Nine snail's trail blocks

Here's the pattern. Each block represents four dogs with their tails/bodies entertained. There's supposed to be another round on the outside for the big body part and where the head sits.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie pattern

I decided that I did NOT want to applique 36 dog heads onto this quilt. It was going to be square and not a good size to do anything with. So I abandoned the last round on the blocks. Instead, I've decided to make enough blocks to make a lap quilt that can be donated to Quilts of Valour. I know - which is more work - making 26 more blocks or appliqueing 36 dog heads??? 

Well, I'm working on the blocks! I have a lot cut out, and I'll share more of that another day. So my ambitious goal for July is to get the quilt top for the snail's trail blocks done AND to get the red/white log cabin blocks sewn together. Those are the LAST two projects on my 2017 UFO list. I WANT them done so I can move onto the 4 remaining projects on the 2018 list! Wouldn't it be great to have both of those lists done by the end of this year?

80 log cabin blocks to be sewn together

That's all I have time for today. I'll share the rest of the homework with you tomorrow.

I have to say that it's encouraging to see the progress being made. Each person sets their own goals based on how much time they have that month. So we only have ourselves to blame if we need to rush before the deadline. But I'm getting things done! Gosh - now I really want a detailed list of the UFOs to see how long it's going to take for me to get them done. I have no intention of leaving those complex ones behind.

If you like what we're doing in the UFO club and need some encouragement, I'll be doing more UFO clubs starting in January. You can be anywhere in the world - the virtual thing makes it all seamless.

Lots of work to get done today as I am planning on being AWAY for the next five days. I know - I hardly know how to prepare. But there will be NO panic packing. That laundry basket may be overflowing with the stuffing, but there will be NO panic packing. 

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!

A new way to shop

So we've all had to find new ways to shop for pretty much everything over the last couple of months. Online shopping has become the new norm - well, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. I'm sure for some things that people will get back to in-store shopping as soon as they feel comfortable. Some quilt shops have been doing huge business with online shopping. It seemed like an easy change for some of the shops as they ramped up their presence on social media to keep customers informed of the stock they had. I saw a note from one store that had to suspend new orders because they couldn't keep up! 

Today, we're entering another era of online shopping. In Canada, we have a fabric distributor, which I think everyone is familiar with - Trendtex. Their job is to bring fabrics in from the US fabric companies and sell to quilt shops. Then quilters would go to quilt shops and buy the fabric. Trendtex was a distributor only and did not sell to the public. 

Today - that has changed. You can now buy DIRECT from Trendtex. YES - so if your local quilt shop didn't bring in the entire collection of whatever you wanted and Trendtex did - then guess what? You can buy what you're missing, or you can buy the whole line if you wish.

Do you have to buy the entire bolt? No - you can buy a meter or two or yes - you can buy the whole bolt if you want. I was browsing their website this morning, and they have pre-cuts, yardage, and the prices are on the website.

Shipping is $15 or free for orders over $149.  NOW - here's the catch. You MUST have a store code to order. If you're on the mailing list of a local store, they will likely have sent you a code. Simply enter that code when you're shopping, and the store gets credit for your purchase.

The big issue now is which store code do I put in when I order? Well - your favorite, of course. Which one do you want to be around forever? Memorize that code - you CANNOT order without the code. The prices seem to be the same as in a quilt store - approximately $20 CDN per meter.

There are LOTS and LOTS to choose from on the Trendtex website - be prepared to spend a lot of time. You can search by collection, brands, designer, color, etc. Here's the link to their website - check it out.    And don't blame me if you buy something!!!!

I can't imagine what's going to happen at the Trendtex warehouse today. There is going to be a team of busy beavers eagerly cutting fabric bolts into yardage and shipping orders. This is something they have never done before, as they only previously cut and folded the fabric onto bolts and shipped to quilt stores. I imagine it's going to be crazy busy!

Is this a good thing? Well, yes and no. OH - these are all yeses, but I'm sure there are nos.

• It does allow the customer (us) to get easy and, hopefully, cheaper access to fabrics that we might not have had access to before. How many times have you got to the end of an order from a US shop only to cancel when you saw the shipping costs? 
• All the fabrics are in ONE spot - so you don't have to be searching for specific pieces of a collection that are located in different stores. 
• And in an ideal world, and if they have staffed their warehouse correctly, you should get the fabric in a much more timely manner. Instead of waiting for it to ship to the quilt shop, and then you go pick it up, it comes directly to you. 
• Plus, the local quilt shop is kept in the loop because they get credited for fabric that their customers buy. Let's see how it goes!

OH - these are all yeses, but I'm sure there are nos. Well - here's a no. If the customer isn't in the shop, they don't make those impulse purchases!!!


I'm not going to place an order - at least not now. I already have four packages of fabric that I'm waiting to arrive. I'm also waiting for my mini-quilt. Those four packages will give me lots to do, plus I'm waiting on some batting to arrive to finish off a couple more quilts. I don't need to buy anything at this point in time. But when the time comes, and I know it will, I know where to go.

So yes - it happened again last night. A lady came ripping down the street to a red light so she could turn right. I had the right of way, and she literally just cut me off as I was about to step off the sidewalk. I'm not exaggerating here - I could have reached out and touched the van she was that close. Why? Why is there no regard for pedestrians? Well, I'm going to need to start walking with a sharp object in my hand. I know - that's bad, but seriously, I don't see why these people keep getting away with these bad driving habits.

We had a great UFO club meeting in the morning. Oh my - we are busy beavers, to say the least, and that little carrot of losing $10 is a huge incentive. I'll share tomorrow what happened, but let's just say that I didn't lose any money.

I was messing with my little triangles to make scrappy half-square triangles. The one on the left is what I had made, and while it looks like there is a lot of contrast, there really isn't when viewed at a distance. The one on the right - is much better.

Two different half-square triangles

Why is the one on the right better than the one on the left? Well, the dark fabric on the left has a lot of the SAME values in it as the light fabric. They are the same grey tones. The dark fabric on the right is different than the light and, as a result, has much better contrast.

I'm sitting outside waiting for dinner when I heard a rat-a-tat noise down the side of the house. Is that the neighbor doing something? Or is that something else.


Sure enough, I walked around the side of the house to find this fellow merrily munching on my fence!!!!

A woodpecker on the fence

Not sure what he found in there, but he was drilling a nice hole. I'll have to keep an eye on him.

Woodpecker drilling a hole in the fence

Speaking of buying fabric, here's one of the hardest things to buy. White fabric!!! I need some more white for a project. I don't have a ton of white in my stash, but I want to make do with what I have. So I'm trying to "color" match.

Does this white look good?

What about this one? 

I think I like the top choice myself. The two whites won't be touching each other in the quilt, so it probably doesn't make a whole lot of difference, but whites are tough to match up. Some are more cream-colored, some have a definite yellow cast to them, and well - some are very different from each other.

I also got busy and finished trimming all the quilts. So I owe a few e-mails to their owners for pick-up, and I now have a HUGE stack of quilts to bind.

Quilts to be bound!

I hope to get some of that done in the next couple of days. WAIT - be realistic. I have to get the homework for three projects done before Tuesday night. I did a lot of cutting and sewing yesterday, and I'm good with two of the three projects. Pictures are taken for one, and that just needs to be written up. I'm sewing on the second one, and then I haven't started the third project. But I'm keeping up to date! Something I've never done in the pst.

And I have five projects, plus my UFO club, to keep up with. I'm thrilled with my progress so far this year. It's great to stay up to date, not lose any money and well, just enjoy the project with the others.

I'm already thinking about possible projects for next year. The virtual thing has gone over very well, so if you don't live close enough to me to participate in a physical class, I'll be doing some online stuff again, including the UFO club. If you're interested and have a great project to suggest, send me an e-mail so I can add it to the list.

I had a good chat with my Dad yesterday. Holy - his brain just won't shut off! He's building stuff, ordering stuff, and well - he's just a happy camper. Just like me. Thanks to the best Dad in the world for giving me the mental strength, strong character, and cheerful disposition to really get the best out of life.

Make sure you have July 18th and 19th marked in your calendar. That's the dates of our next Virtual Retreat. Get your projects cut out and get ready to sew all day. Well, you can just stop in to say hi, or you can stay all day or anything in between. It's going to be a wild and fun day!!!

What did I learn yesterday? OH, something significant. From time to time, I activate the INSERT function on my keyboard, which is very annoying when I'm editing. It writes right over existing text on the screen. I had no idea how to turn it off. Well - I found out which key I've been accidentally touching, and now if it happens again, I know how to turn it off. I've only had this keyboard for how many years? As a matter of fact, I've almost worn the lettering off some of the keys.

My keyboard is losing the paint on the keys

On that note, I'm out of here. We have our Monday sewing today, and I've got stuff cut and waiting to be sewn. Then I need to hit the computer to answer some e-mails and get some homework assignments written up. So I do not have to travel to events, but I probably take the same amount of time (or more) to write up the assignments. Which would I rather do? Write - that was easy!

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!!

Data Usage

One thing that has surprised me during this pandemic is the speed of the internet. At least where I live, the internet has worked amazingly well. No slowdowns, which is fantastic considering the number of people who are streaming videos, doing homework, searching, or whatever they are doing.

The first time, I noticed a slow down is this morning. It took a while for me to get into my Virtual Challenge website. Now it could have been that website - who knows. Let's just hope that we're going to continue to get this exceptional level of service and with NO huge costs associated with the excellent service after things settle down.

I dare not look at our usage, although we're generally not big users in our house. However, I wonder how much the day-long live retreats suck up data. I was on my account a couple of days ago, and the usage section is completely empty!! They don't want people to be armed with that kind of data. But don't you wonder? I do - I want to know how much data is used when I stream for one hour, one day, or whatever. That will make me more aware of my needs.

I am watching more BluPrint classes. I'm actually watching some of the on-line quilt shows -  the long arm one and the Modern Quilting one. I'm watching Season One of both of them. It's hard to binge-watch anything - first off - it's not my style, and there's only so much of quilting shows that one person can take at one sitting! If I get through these two seasons, and I finish watching the one class that I'm "taking," I'll feel like I got my money's worth for my subscription. I'm not sure when they will shut it down. Some people got letters, I didn't. I have already completed one class.

I know that some of us are sad that BluPrint is closing, but I listened to a presentation on quilting trends the other day and it appears that the sites that we have to pay for are on the decline. It doesn't surprise me because everybody is trying to gain followers so offers so much for FREE. That's good for the viewers, not so good for those trying to make a living. But like all industry - there's too much of all this stuff. There's too much for the base of viewers.

But that's OK - I'll keep watching a few episodes a day. A lot of stuff I already know, but there is a tidbit or two among the information shared, so it's worth it, and it keeps me entertained while I'm sewing.

I have to say that I didn't sew much yesterday. I went for a bike ride in the morning. I would have preferred to take advantage of the cooler temperatures in the early morning, but I didn't head out until 9:30. Thankfully there is a breeze when you're riding, so it wasn't hot - until you stopped. Then you can really feel the heat.

I've found a great little route of 50 K. A couple of short, nasty hills to ride up, mostly decent roads, some bike paths, and generally good cycling. Would I do it on a weekday? Likely not - even with the lesser traffic during the pandemic. I'll stick with the weekends, although I should try it once during the week just to see what the traffic is like. And there was NO wind yesterday. What happened?

A bike-friendly intersection

I'm not fast, but that's OK - I get to the end, and that's all that counts! My average speed was 20.1 KM. That includes all the waiting at traffic lights -  I didn't check the average moving speed.

The stats at the end of the ride

The traffic was great, although some people just feel it's their right to speed past as fast as they can go. And it's not just when I'm on the bike. The other night when I was walking past the mall, some guy comes flying out. He has a red light, and he's going to make a right-hand turn. He doesn't stop. He's looking to his left to see if he can zip through that red light. As he turns, he sees ME RIGHT BESIDE his car. I could tell by his face that he hadn't seen me, and he puts out his hand in the car as if to apologize. Sure - buddy - use that arm to apologize to my family if you run me down. What does it take to STOP (as is the law) and look to see if it's OK to proceed?

I swear - ALL drivers should be made to walk in a busy area and ride a bike on the street to see what it's like. That should be part of their test. And they need to experience idiots who don't stop at crosswalks and drive too fast. I swear - they have NO IDEA what's it's like. Granted, some pedestrians and cyclists don't obey the rules of the road, but I'm shocked that there aren't more incidents.

I slathered on the sunscreen, which is great to keep the sun from burning my skin, but all the road grit gets embedded in the sunscreen. ICK!!!

Dirt embedded in the sunscreen

After I was home and cleaned up, I had to go to the bank. OK - so I need some assistance with the hand sanitizing thing. Masks were not mandatory in the bank, but they had a giant bottle of hand sanitizer. In trying to look like I'm responsible, I did the hand sanitizing thing. Oh god - that was a tad too much. My hands were dripping! Thankfully, it dissipated quickly! I'm not paranoid - totally the opposite, so I do try to make an effort to comply! I do carry a mask and wear it where I have to. And I avoid places where I'll be in contact with others. In the future, even though it's not mandatory, I'll wear the mask in a shop, especially Costco. That place is just too crazy to avoid people.

Sometimes, on my walk, I must look crazy as I zip onto the grass or onto the far edge of the sidewalk to avoid those walking towards me. It's a game - will they move or do I have to? It's like a game of give and take!

I'm trying very hard to confine myself to that one laundry basket for the retreat projects. I needed to add some stuffing, and well, that's taken the stuff way over the top. BUT it's IN the laundry basket, and that's all that counts. I just have to add one box of sewing tools and feet, and even though that box is large, it's all going to fit in one basket! I can still slip a few small things in there!  But I've got more than enough to keep me busy.

The retreat laundry basket

I did get some sewing done yesterday. I see the e-mails with the UFO homework have been hitting my mailbox yesterday and last night. I need to compile all that to get ready for our Zoom meeting this morning. I did some work on my UFO as well. Is it done? Well, you have to wait until tomorrow to see. I did bite the bullet and ripped that one block apart that I didn't like. And I have a plan which I'll share as well tomorrow.

A snail's trail block ripped out

I ignored some of the paperwork that needed to be done, and now I must get that done today.

On that note, I'm out of here!!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!

Everywhere a sign

A day for piddly little things, but it was a good day.

I still had to make the label for the mini-quilt that I made for my swap partner. I knew she wasn't completed my mini quilt, so I wasn't in a rush. Then I saw a note from her asking for my address - she was ready to send. Yikes - so I dashed off a label and sewed it to the back of the quilt. I had the mini-quilt for my Mom and a couple of other things to mail, so I was off to the post office.

Those things are all out of the house, and that was good to cross those items off the list. And then it's on to other stuff!

I'm getting in a lot of walking these days. Since I don't walk through the forest with the dogs - there is just too much temptation for Murphy, I decided to walk through the woods on the way home from the post office. We have two types of garbage bins in the parks. One for recycling and one for garbage. 

Waste bins in the forest

What surprises me is that they have to label "no dog waste" on the recycling bins. And even then, the amount of garbage that goes into the recycling bins is obscene. Do people not read? Do they not care? Do they not know what is recyclable? I don't get it - where is the pride of living in a nice neighborhood and caring for the environment? 

So we live in a neighborhood where our compost is picked up every week, recyclables are picked up every two weeks, and garbage is picked every two weeks. I've said before that I can't believe how much waste some households produce. We put our carts out once a month (except the compost). We buy stuff - not much, but it's shocking at how much waste some households put out EACH WEEK. 

Now I noticed a new sign on the waste bins in the parks. 

A new sign on the waste bins

Yep -- I've seen people get out of their cars and dump their garbage bags in these park bins. Why? Garbage pickup is included in our city taxes, and you pay regardless of how much or how little you put out. I just think it's sad that we're not looking at ways to reduce the amount of waste we each generate. Changing our buying habits and sending messages back to the supply companies about packaging - I don't know the answer, but we need to figure something out. 

Speaking of walking, here's an article of some seniors in Calgary that are getting creative with their walking. I love the idea of mapping the steps. This is somewhat similar to what I do, and it's fun!!! It costs a bit to do it the way I do, but that's OK. 

I just heard a message on the radio above COVID that was sponsored by the Government of Alberta! Hmm - I think someone hit the wrong button!

I'm determined to get stuff cleaned out of our house and use up what we have before I buy more. I'm on a tea kick. We have odds and ends of different kinds of tea, so I'm experimenting. I'm making up my own tea bags using tea bag filters. Hmmm - sometimes, I fold that thing tight and other times not so much. 

Tea filter that opened

It's not such a huge deal, but I hate when the tea leaves leak out! I'm sure someone has a YouTube video to help me figure out the right way to fold the filter, so it doesn't pop open. While I used to think that I liked fruity teas, I'm not so sure. I seem to like others instead. Like I said, I'm experimenting and when I'm done, then hopefully, I'll know which ones I enjoy the most. 

Tea leaves left in the bottom of the cup

Hmm - do those tea leaves say anything about me???  I doubt it! 

  

I should have posted this sooner, but I did not. If anyone is still making masks and is using t-shirt material for the ties, here's an entire "skein" of t-shirt yarn that could be used. 

A skein of t-shirt yarn

 It was to make this crocheted basket. I started the basket - not happy with it, and well, it's time to move on! So if anyone wants it and is close enough for pickup - it's yours. I'll also mail it if you're going to pay for postage. 

The pattern for the crocheted basket

I had to go shopping for fabric yesterday. It was as simple as walking into the stash room and pulling one of the baskets of orange fabric off the shelf. I walked the basket to a table and dumped it. Now it's time to shop. This is such an easy way to shop. I can touch the fabric and lay the stuff I'm trying to match beside it. And nothing gets unfolded. It goes back in the basket, the same way it came out. Such a simple system! And I get a visual reminder of all the fabrics I have. 

Shopping in the basket of orange fabric

I pulled out a variety of prints that will potentially work. I pulled the one that worked the best for the scenario at hand. The rest got put into the project box so I won't have to shop next month. Yes - this is for one of my ongoing projects. 

The fabrics I "bought"

I got one more customer quilt done. I've started trimming the quilted quilts - the pile was getting too big! I hope to finish trimming the rest of the quilts later today. 

Customer quilt - DONE

I did make it out to the backyard late in the afternoon. The only problem is that late afternoon is the time when the sun hits the gazebo. No worries. I have another shady spot to relax in!!!

Another relaxing spot in the backyard

I love it when I get mail on my PFAFF creative icon!  It was a small project that involved embroidery. I looked at the project, but I have other things to do!!

You've got MAIL

Here are the two blocks that I completed for the homework for our Vintage Christmas sew-along.

The first one is the Happy Puppy block. He's cute, and I used a stitch on the sewing machine to create his eyes.

Happy Puppy block

The second was the Vintage Ornament block. The hanger was also stitched on with the sewing machine. Two more blocks are done!!! I think we have 18 to go and we're done! We're over halfway!!!

Vintage Ornament block

On that note, I'm out of here! More e-mails to answer today - it just seems like there is no end to e-mails! And my little stack of paperwork never seems to have an end! If I don't keep on top of it - well, I'm in trouble.

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!