The aftermath

Phew -- so doing that Facebook Live was quite an adventure! I didn't go back and watch it, but I know a few areas where I could do things differently. But I'm OK with that. What am I always telling people? It'll never be perfect the first time -- gosh -- it'll probably never be perfect! However, one learns from experience, and I spent the morning walking through the presentation, moving from chair to chair, standing up to hold the quilts, and prepping fabric or whatever I needed as I did the walk-through. 

I had an agenda on a small whiteboard to help me along, and I'm happy with the results. 

Needless to say, I had help while I was working. First, Murphy was there as Little Bear was upstairs. 

Why is the gaffer asleep on the floor?

Then Little Bear wanted to be downstairs, so he got moved. 

The replacement is no better than the original!

Then, they were both there to help out. Lexi? She would NEVER come downstairs. That's beneath a Princess to take the stairs. 

MOM -- we want to be TALENT, not behind-the-scenes stuff!

During the actual presentation, Little Bear stayed on the floor. I could hear Murphy barking at one point, but nothing I could do about it!! 

I was messing around taking pictures, and here's the view from my primary camera. 

The view from the primary camera

And this is what my table looked like. 

Behind the scenes

My tiny little set-up gives you some appreciation for what happens in a real filming studio. It reminded me of the day when the Property Brothers (Drew and Linda) descended upon Studio B to film a segment for their show. I could see myself on the laptop screen, but I was not using the laptop camera, which was unnerving. I was looking into a camera about 10 feet away. Yet all the questions came on the laptop. Oh well -- it was OK, but remember to look at the camera, NOT the computer!

In case you're wondering, this is what my screen looked like. 

What I saw! 

I had to laugh because, after the presentation, this is what the floor looked like. 

Everything got tossed to the floor

Everything got tossed to the floor. There was no time to tidy it up, and that's OK!!!

Anyway, I had a blast! So help me, but I volunteered to do it again! Hey -- if I went to all that trouble to make this happen, I should at least get to do it again! 

Someone asked about my jacket (not during the presentation, but after). Here's a picture of the back. 

My jacket

This was the first time I wore it. Where did it come from? I wish I could say I made it, but I did not. When M was in Turkey in the fall, she was browsing some of the local markets and spotted a shop selling this kind of work. It is called Kashmiri Embroidery. 

The shop she was in had hundreds of brilliantly colored items, so I went shopping through her phone. We settled on this one. When it came to size, she tried on one, and we went one size larger. Anyway, I got the jacket when she stopped in on her way home. I tried it on, and it fits like a glove! It's beautiful. 

I suspect this type of embroidery is similar to the MOLAS from the Panama Canal area. Do they make "cheap knock-offs" for tourists? I don't know what the story is, but it's beautiful! I'm not sure how much she paid. I should ask her if she remembers. 

When I finished yesterday, I was EXHAUSTED. My brain and body protested that I needed a break, so I did. The girls, the boy, and I cuddled up in the living room and had a long nap. But only after they all entertained me!

My entertainment after the show

I went downstairs this morning to start tidying everything up. It was a disaster, to be sure! I got all the samples put away. The extension cords (I had THREE different power bars) got put away. And I returned the big mic to DH's office. Shoot -- I bought that for me, and then I was using earbuds, so I gave the mic to him. Thankfully, he wasn't home yesterday, so I stole the mic from his office. It worked like a charm! My earbuds haven't been working well for quite some time, so I've been using the mic on the laptop, which is crap! I have a new set of earbuds, and I'll try them for the virtual retreat this weekend. 

Mostly tidied up except for the technology

I need to do some significant labeling before I put everything away. Cords must be labeled; I might pack them with the appropriate camera. That way, when I grab a camera, all its cords are in one place. So I'll work on that later today - bit by bit, but the worst part is done.

Speaking of cameras, I was tidying up the remaining mess on the kitchen table, and imagine my surprise when I realized that TWO of the three cameras were FILM, not digital. I delicately opened it (although that doesn't make a difference if there is an open film in the back) and found a roll that needed to be developed. I suspect this camera belonged to M. Do I even dare get that developed? I may not want to see any of the photos. Perhaps I should give it to her and let her decide. 

An undeveloped film?

This is the second camera, which did not have any film inside. I dug the manual out of the recycling for this camera, as it's a decent camera. The other one is very cheap. This is a Nikon. I have a few rolls of film -- does anyone have a budding photographer in their family who would love to mess with film? Otherwise, it's going to get donated. 

Another film camera

I was sorting through the CDs that I found. Good grief -- I've bought a few Canon products in my time. Notice the version of the software that came with each!! I can download it online, so I don't need these. I don't think anyone uses CDs for multi-media or any other purpose, but I best keep those pouches!!! I have to deal with those today. 

Old CDs for cameras

As part of my cleaning process this morning, I was swiftering around getting rid of dust and decided to move the portable design wall. I simply folded it in on itself. Imagine my surprise when I spotted this block on the back! That's the MISSING block from Barn Star Sampler. I swear I had made all the pinwheels but couldn't find one. So I remade it!!! I got a chuckle!!!

My MISSING block from the Barn Start Sampler quilt

If you wonder why I called my sewing spaces STUDIOs, not sewing rooms, read this quote. It's from a book on organizing your sewing space. I must have read the book years ago, or I just decided that what I do sounds better in a studio than in a sewing room. 

We DESERVE STUDIOS!!!

To add to the circus which is my house, two nights ago, the doorbell rang at 7 PM, and this box was on my step. Good grief -- CanPar was working late!!! Anyway, I've opened the box, and it's filled with goodies that I get to play with for the next blog posts for QUILTsocial. I can't wait!!!! 

A box of goodies!! 

And I think that's enough excitement to last for a while. However, I'm back to work today as I have a presentation on Husqvarna Viking Accessories tonight. It won't take long to assemble, and I'll only use one camera. However, I might use one of my Handi-cams to show off the accessories. And I have a massage booked. Thank goodness, as I can feel how tight my shoulders are, and I've not had a chance to do much about it. She is going to HURT me today - I can already feel it. 

Almost all of our snow is gone. The weather was so warm yesterday, but when I finished at 4:30, I was too tired to go for that second walk. But it's still warm this morning and will get warmer as the day progresses, so it'll be nice to walk the girls and the boy. 

Here are the links for the Virtual Retreat this weekend. 

Saturday, February 24 -- Starts at 6 PM

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89816483795?pwd=Mjc3M3pvVmZPdjdsQzlHS3Zhck52dz09

Meeting ID: 898 1648 3795
Passcode: 248667

Sunday, February 25 - Starts at NOON

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82983517671?pwd=ODdsa1FJenQwdFNaQWFTNGd4bEhPZz09

Meeting ID: 829 8351 7671
Passcode: 117636

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Lights, camera, CABLES!

I am not sure I can do justice to my day. It felt like I was in an escape room and had a time limit to figure the puzzle out!

Let's say there were a few surprises along the way. I have done countless live Zoom presentations, and I have used two cameras and my laptop camera. No problem. However, we use a different platform for live streaming to Facebook, and the camera from the laptop will not work. Yikes! 

My initial thought was, "No problem," I have a video conferencing camera and my document camera, and I'll purchase a handicap to make it all happen. 

I've been struggling to connect the darn switch box to my computer. 

The switch box

So, I called support yesterday to get some help. I learned a valuable lesson (that should have been passed to me but wasn't). The switch box will ONLY take HDMI to HDMI connections. No USB-C or USB allowed. 

What? How well do you know your cables? 

HDMI, USB, and USB-C

There are HDMI, MINI-HDMI, and MICRO-HDMI. Of course, those big HDMI cables will not work on small devices, hence the mini and the micro. There are USB and USB-C. And there are other random connections as well. I'm getting pretty good at knowing which is which. 

The fact that the switch box would only take HDMI eliminated my video conference camera, so I didn't have a camera to show my face, and I could NOT get the document camera to work, even though it has HDMI capabilities. 

This resulted in a mad dash to look through my collection of camera stuff. I have a DSLR camera, and I thought I would be able to use it. It was a little dusty and needed to be charged. 

My DSLR camera

I pulled everything off the shelf to see what I had and if I had a cable to connect the camera to the switch box. 

Good grief, but there is a TON of junk on that shelf. 

Half of my camera crap

And the other half

But I found a MINI-HDMI to HDMI cable in the crap (why I bought it - no idea). Maybe it came with the camera. One less cable to purchase!

AHA -- there's the necessary cable

Imagine my surprise when I opened one of the camera bags to find a HANDI-CAM!! Shoot -- I could have been using that for my Zooms for the last couple of years! 

A handi-cam!!!

I had no idea I had that and was not even sure when or why I bought it. So everything was put on chargers, and I went off to buy a MICRO-HDMI to HDMI, and I needed two tripods. 

Charing the handi-cam

It took me a few minutes to remember where the charger for the DSLR camera was, but I found it. 

Charing the DSLR battery

Then I was back (I had to buy dog food for Little Bear anyway), and the camera shop was close by. They had two tripods (a really good sale on one, but they only had one) and no cable, but the cable was at the other location, which was close by. Thank goodness for living in a big city. 

We arrived home with a cable and two tripods, and now it was time to get back to work. But not before I went through some of the crap I had removed from the camera shelf. 

The camera shelf is empty and washed

All this paper went into the recycling. I know -- it was JUNK and outdated - a digital photography magazine from 2002!!!! 

Paper crap from the camera shelf

I found THREE old digital cameras. Those are going in the electronic waste. Who wants an old camera like this when you have a cell phone? 

OLD digital cameras

I found two plastic containers to put the smaller stuff into and put everything back on the shelf. It still needs to be tidied up more, but in the essence of time, this was going to have to do. Let's just say that it looks MUCH better than it did. 

The camera shelf

And I found this little stand for a cell phone that I had been looking for!! Who knew it was with the camera stuff? 

A stand for a cell phone

Let's say that when I'm done with this event, I'll evaluate which of the cameras I can use for Zoom and get a bit better organized. What I don't use is going to be carefully put away, with all the necessary cables in a bag and labeled for that camera!!!

And I need a bag with "like" cables. One for HDMI - HDMI, one for mini-HDMI- HDMI and so on. They WILL be labeled. This is crazy!! I have "hundreds" of USB to USB-C. 

I was struggling to get the DSLR camera connected to the switch box. Just not happening, so more research and another call to support to find out that you can live stream from a DSLR, but only on USB (perhaps on HDMI as well), but it won't work through a switch box! It wants a direct link to the computer. OK -- so that's not going to happen. Now I'm down to the two handi-cams and a document camera that I can't get to work. 

Then DUH -- I realized that I need a separate cord (USB-C to USB) to POWER that document camera - it won't work on the HDMI connection alone. Crap -- I've been caught with that before. Needless to say, I got all three cameras working. The only thing I need now is a USB-to-USB cable because I need a USB hub to handle the USB connections.  

What??? OH yes -- get this, I couldn't get my computer to recognize the switch box. Despite all the HDMI stuff, it needs a USB connection to the laptop. That's ridiculous!!!

And NOWHERE in all the literature or support videos online did anyone say that. Nope --- all these people with their "helpful" videos, and NONE of them solved my BASIC problems. I think they need some help in writing their technical documents. Plug in the USB isn't sufficient. You need to tell me what output is on the switch box (what cable end or label) and then where the other end needs to go. It should be cable by cable, not just plug in the USB. 

Well, since I wasn't going to be able to use the DSLR camera, I only needed one tripod. So I'll return the other one later this week. The one on sale (half price) is a really good tripod. I didn't like the other one, which was more expensive because it wasn't on sale. I'll return that one and keep the more expensive one, but cheaper because on sale! 

And this is what the "studio" looks like this morning. I had to move the tables to get enough reach for the main camera. I need to change the background (it's a very tight field) so you don't see much background. And I need to organize and run through the content and prepare for some live action on the serger! I also hope to make a tote bag! 

The "live" studio

I had given myself all day to get those cameras organized, and it took most of the day, and I did some decluttering at the same time!!

The Facebook Live is all about the Husqvarna Viking Amber Air S600 and QUILTING. It's on the Husqvarna Viking North America Facebook page, and it starts at 3:00 PM EST. 

OH -- I had to laugh because, at about 4:30, when I was still on the support call with Canon, I could hear my name eminating from the laptop. WHAT????  OH -- that was my "producer" for the Facebook Live as she checked the open channel I was playing with to see how things were going. That was hilarious, and it was good she popped in as I was going to ask her to pop in this morning. But all is good!!!! 

I swear, the entire day seemed like ONE GIANT EXIT game puzzle! If one thing doesn't work, then try another!!!

On that note, I'm off to spin class!!!

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!

TEAM work!

For our American friends who celebrated President's Day yesterday, we got to celebrate FAMILY Day! I don't even remember when they started that day or why. Was it because we needed a stat holiday in February, and Valentine's didn't cut it? 

AH -- If you check the history, it started in the province of Alberta in 1990 to recognize the importance of the home and family of their founding pioneers, and it has been adopted by most other provinces since. We've had Family Day in Ontario since 2008. 

Oh, you will be sick of me talking about the EXIT game, but we solved the puzzle last night! It was a team effort, to be sure. I got the first part of it -- super easy. But now, what the heck do we do with this? I had a brilliant idea, and that got us one step closer. Now what? We were still perplexed. Then I discovered the next step- this is a process of talking aloud and hoping something will pop out of your head!

OK, so I got the "sentence" code, but what do I do with that? Then DH came to the rescue and solved the final part! A total team effort!!! We would NOT be able to do these on our own. I can't wait until we start the "hard" ones! 

It was a bit of a puttering day while I listened to the ladies on Monday Sewing. By the way, even with all the puttering, that section of the cutting table is CLEAR!!!

Messing with quilt backs while on Monday's Zoom call

I had been determining what backing I would use for that large play-panel quilt. Now that it has a home, I wanted something somewhat nice and consistent on the back. Thanks to the group, I found what I was looking for online, and it was ordered. I have two panels left over, and they found a home yesterday, along with the fabric I was going to use for the backing for this one. I didn't have enough, so that was the problem.  

I would NOT have been able to do that on my own. It's TEAM work. So that was a very exciting moment when I got that problem solved. 

I was also looking for a backing for that bicycle quilt, and I dug through my two (shhhhhh!!!) baskets of bicycle fabric as I knew I had a couple of large pieces. I found this in flannel. Hmm -- that's pretty bright and doesn't really go with the front other than it has bicycles on it. So I returned to the two baskets, and YES -- I found another piece of flannel bicycle fabric that was more suitable.  

Flannel fabric for a quilt back

I didn't take a picture of that. Because it's flannel and the top is cotton, I washed it and just heard the dryer shut off! Done!! I may have to do some fancy piecing to make it fit, but at least it's not directional like the orange one is. 

Since I was on a roll, I searched for another UFO I'd tried to find. I was pretty sure I knew where it was, but I hadn't located it the last time I looked. This time, I looked HARD, and guess what? I found it!!

Another UFO surfaced

This also has a home now, so it's time to work on it. Those are HAND-EMBROIDERED (by me) blocks that I did YEARS ago. 

Then, it was time to trim some HSTs. I don't know why that came up, but it seemed the right thing to do. And they have to be trimmed at some point. 

One basket of HSTs to trim

I need an electrical outlet at my cutting table. I had to cut on this table,, which is way too short for me, but it was OK for just the few I trimmed at that point. I lost power to my laptop with no warning. I saw a message: "battery is low," and poof - it shut down! 

Trimming HSTs

But even after the call waoverne and I had a few minutes, I continued to press the little things. 

Pressing HSTs

And during the day, I managed to get quite a few done. This is only part of what I accomplished. 

My trimmed HSTs

In the future, my goal is to trim as I sew, and that's what I've been doing with the Barn Star Sampler HST leftovers. So, no more accumulation. That seems to be a significant problem for quilters. We prepare things for a rainy day, and that rainy day never comes, and then we end up with a HUGE mess!!!

In my sorting, I unearthed this little bag. It's a fishing tackle bag, perfect for hand work. Since I'm not doing much of that these days, I decided to empty the bag. 

Time to empty this bag of handwork supplies

I found needles, buttons, a seam ripper, floss, and an OLD $20 bill!!

OH -- a found treasure!

I'll hang onto the bag as it's an excellent little travel case and quite sturdy!!

Then, this was also sitting on my cutting table. 

My Laurel Birch hand bag

I have used this bag for many years,, and it's starting to look sad. It's been put away somewhere and I dug it out the other day. 

The corners are worn out

DO NOT yell at me, but I hate to throw it away!!! I've considered taking it apart and rescuing the front, even though it's faded. But then what would I do with it? So help me, but I'm a hoarder for this kind of thing. Partially worn out, but I hate to throw it away. If I throw it out, I WILL keep the wooden dog tag. 

Speaking of dogs, look at Lexi! She is shedding hair like it's the middle of July! I brushed her daily for a while, and she looked pretty spiffy. Now? She looks like a molting chicken! I must get back to the daily brushing, but I hate doing it in the house, and it's cold outside! 

MOM - I need some grooming!

OH -- speaking of outside, have a look at this! Can you figure out which footprint is mine? 

Who owns that giant footprint

Yep -- that would be mine on the right! Those HOKAs are WIDE. Well, the sole is wide, but the actual space inside isn't quite that wide. But these shoes are perfect for people with feet issues like mine (and mine are mild). I've almost lost the little mohawk calus on my right baby toe. Yes -- they look like boats on my feet, but if they do the job, I couldn't care less!!

Even with all the puttering in Studio B, I managed to finish my tasks for the day - well, almost. I set up my equipment for my Facebook Live tomorrow, and I HAVE A PROBLEM. So, I need to resolve that today. One piece (the MAIN) piece isn't recognized by my computer. Sigh!!! But the rest of it is fine - I have all the cables and whatnot, so I should be ready once I get the computer to recognize the switch box. 

There are so many cables on that table - there's barely room to put a sample! 

While I could say there is a lot of the schedule today, there is only ONE critical thing, and that's to solve that technical issue. If that gets solved early, then I have a "free" day!

On that note, I'd better get moving as I have the girls and a boy to walk this morning. OH -- I should mention that all the snow we had received in the last couple of days - just a couple of snow squalls, really - it's all gone! The sidewalks are BARE, which I love for walking. It is not so good for moisture in the ground, but it is great for walking!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

It's all about finishing UFOs

Today's post should be called EXIT Game excitement! We sat and mulled the darn puzzle over at dinner, and I was getting tired of it and wanted to leave it. DH continued to mull it over and then said something VERY IMPORTANT. We forgot a VERY VISUAL clue, and as soon as he mentioned it, finding the answer was easy! So, points to DH for solving that one. Hanging up the laundry was easy. 

We moved on to the next door. I was trying to print a quilt label as he mulled over the cards. What could it be? He was looking at blank (black) cards with his flashlight and nothing. So I had a look and found the answer within a minute! Ooops!!! So we solved TWO puzzles yesterday!

But at one point, he was getting frustrated. AHA --- doesn't it feel much better to mull it over one more time than look at the clues? We're on Day 10 now (out of 24), and we've only looked at clues twice. The first clue was because I had looked at the clue last year and maybe Day Three? But we're getting better at it. Hmm --- what do we always say? You must PRACTICE, and solving these puzzles requires practice. OK -- so it requires a bit of out-of-the-box thinking, which we both have, but this is pushing us. 

What will we chat about when we reach the end of these games? Oh -- I'll be scouring the internet for others as we love them!

Yesterday was the UFO Club, and I'm amazed at how muchpush pushing themselves (including me) to get things done! It's great to have a deadline, and it's even better to complete some of these long-overdue projects or at least make progress on them. I'm working on Cabin in the Woods and have TWO on the go. That's what I used to do when teaching in the past. I'd finish one bit of homework to show them the final look, and one would be in pieces. 

My plan for yesterday was to have all the applique cut for the center. I had most of it cut, but not all. I didn't penalize myself because I had made a great effort to get that done. Last night, I sat with Harry Potter, and I finished all the cutting. 

Here's one of the quilts. You can't really see, but there are two fish and a canoe along the bottom, a bear and two deer (elk) just above those, and an an eagle in the top. 

Cabin in the Wood Number One

Here's the second quilt, which also has the same applique pieces. I wasn't sure about the applique, but now that it's done, I LOVE IT!! 

Quilt number two

I'm using various fabrics for the applique - some are batik, something similar to ultrasuede and wool. Why not? It's all an experiment. I had done hand applique on the leaves on the first one, but I won't do that this time. I'll do everything by machine. 

Here's a closeup of my salmon. I love how he turned out!The shapes are not fused to the quilt yet. I'll stitch them down and then sew everything together. Hmm -- how much could I get done if I focused a bit more this month? 

The salmon

My homework for next month is to finish cutting ALL the applique shapes for the remaining FIVE borders, but I have a plan. Then, it all needs to be stitched in place, so it will take a while before I'm done with these two quilts. 

I had to laugh because when I was at the retreat, I managed to sew TWO UFOs in two days, but they were easy. Remember these quilts? The center of this one was made of THREE play panels, and then I added the blue border and the crazy pieced mitered border. But it was a project that I could finish in ONE day! 

One UFO done at retreat

This one was already cut, and it took two days to finish it, but both of these UFOs were easy!!

One more UFO done at retreat

The ones I seem to tackle in UFO Club are the sew-alongs ($10 quilts) from years ago that I never finished. Those were ones that we split up over a year, and I just got behind - very far behind on some of them. In the last ten years, I've become more diligent about keeping up with the class, so those quilts should no longer be an issue. And also the number of classes is significantly reduced! But I have enough of those big UFOs to last a LONG time. 

So what happened here? They are pretty good about sharing, but Murphy wouldn't move her big butt, so the little guy was forced to sleep on the step? What's that all about? 

GRANDMA - help me!!!!

I almost died laughing when I saw that, but I had to run for the camera first! He's so cute! And I guess he's not afraid of the stairs!!

But then he got to come and sit with me while I did the UFO Zooms. He's quiet as a mouse and happy to be with me. 

My supervisor during the UFO Zoom

As I survey the wreckage that was my "to-do" list for the week, I see that I'm a bit behind in some of the paperwork. I HATE carrying over tasks from week to week (it's a pain to rewrite them), but it must be done. I make the list for the week on Sunday night, but I was tired, so that's first on the list of things to do this morning! And if I'm really good, I can get a few things done BEFORE I make the new list this morning! 

Well, I'm off to spin class this morning - yes, even though it's a holiday, some of us still want to get our butts out of the house and onto a bike! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!