Virtual Retreat - September 24 and 25

 Here is the Zoom link for September 24 - the retreat starts at 6 PM

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89254233911?pwd=VGQrTnFybW1HMWpleHA4M2Q2NGVwZz09 Meeting ID: 892 5423 3911 Passcode: 982797

Here is the Zoom link for September 25 -- the retreat starts at NOON

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81693717518?pwd=STNoVVQzbDd4ZnROQndNNlpvcC90QT09 Meeting ID: 816 9371 7518 Passcode: 579285

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Virtual Retreat - September 24 and 25

 Here is the Zoom link for September 24 - the retreat starts at 6 PM

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89254233911?pwd=VGQrTnFybW1HMWpleHA4M2Q2NGVwZz09 Meeting ID: 892 5423 3911 Passcode: 982797

Here is the Zoom link for September 25 -- the retreat starts at NOON

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81693717518?pwd=STNoVVQzbDd4ZnROQndNNlpvcC90QT09 Meeting ID: 816 9371 7518 Passcode: 579285

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

How dense can one be?

Oh, help me, as I'm so darn goal-oriented, and I try not to be, and I confess that since I got home, I haven't looked at my daily KM. OK -- that's a lie. I have looked, but I haven't been obsessed with getting a certain distance each day, and I haven't looked at my 2022 cardio challenge since I got home. I have no idea where I am! 

But a bad thing is forming in my mind, and it's all about those community project quilts. Yesterday marked the TWO-week mark (14 days) that I've been doing TWO quilts per day for a total of 28 quilts. Hmm -- how long can I keep that streak up? Can I quilt 60 quilts in 30 days? So help me now -- I have no idea where that thought came from. 

I have the quilts, the machine, the batting, and the time, but do I have the stamina to make it happen? It appears that no moss will grow under me, but I will say that yesterday almost killed me, and it was my OWN fault. Here's what happened. 

Here is the first quilt, and these ones were slightly larger than the previous ones I've been doing. They measured about 40" by 50" or something like that. No more flannel, at least in the smaller quilts to be quilted. 

Community project quilt - DONE

Before loading the second quilt, I needed to trim some fabric from the backing of this one to make the backing for the second one. 

Trimming the quilt to harvest the backing leftovers

Then I had to do two seams to make the backing, and it all worked perfectly! There were even some bits left over! 

Swing the backing together for the second quilt

And then the second quilt was done. WAIT -- you think it's the same quilt? It's not -- look at the second last border -- one is green, one is striped! They are NOT the same. 

The second community project quilt - DONE

So that got the two quilts out of the way for the day. However, I knew I had a couple of errands today, and it might be a struggle to get two quilts done, so I continued and did a third. I have no idea what I was thinking -- perhaps I was too tired to operate delicate machinery, or I got on a roll and let the long arm software dictate what I was doing. 

I chose a dense pattern, and my subconscious said it was too dense, but I let it go. That quilt took FOREVER To quilt out. 

A very dense pattern!

This is the danger of the software. You get lulled into using the entire space available (17") when the pattern should have been about 10 - 12" (not 8.5"), and each row should have been done separately, not two at a time. Sigh...................

The third community project quilt - DONE

Here's how dense the quilting is. And the worst part? You can't really see the quilting on the front or the back. What the heck was I thinking? 

Very dense quilting!

It doesn't matter, the quilt is done, and I'll pay more attention the next time I choose a dense pattern! 

The next quilt is loaded, so I technically have only one quilt to do today, which is good since I'll be away for most of the afternoon, and since DH is back home, I wasn't able to stitch one this morning as he would hear the machine. Maybe, he wouldn't, but my rule is NO quilting before 9 AM when he's home. 

As I was quilting, I was NOT idle, and the next thing I knew, I was back into the tubs of quilts, looking for a specific quilt. But I must have been dreaming when I put them away. I thought there was ONE quilt made with O Canada fabric that wasn't with the others, but I could not find it. I pulled a few more quilts out (in case I can actually do the 60 in 30 days), so those are waiting near the long arm, along with some potential backings, as I don't believe all the ones I pulled have the backing included. No worries --- I've got bolts and bolts of fabric for backings and much yardage, not on a bolt. I might have to make some bindings as well, but again --- I have a LOT of fabric to use up, so finding fabric will not be a problem. 

Sorting through the tubs of quilt tops - AGAIN!

As I was doing this, it made me think of another area near where I store the customer quilts, and underneath that shelf are several tubs. Oh my --- there are two large tubs filled with quilts that I made for community projects a few years ago. But I also found a couple more quilts that Diane made! I didn't count them -- they are staying right where they are! I've got a plan. The goal should be to tame this mess and get them all together. But everything is neat and tidy, so I'm not worrying about it!

More community project quilts

I did more sorting in the storage room so that all the smaller quilts are in one box. But I have pulled enough quilts out to fill my downtime, and I'll have to wait for the next quilting marathon to pull more quilts. I'm DONE with sorting and playing. There is plenty of room for new community project quilts, and that's a good thing since Diane and Cathy are madly sewing! Yes --- Cathy is getting the scraps, and she has some of her own, which I promised to do. 

Another tub of community project quilts

It was about 4:30 when I finally sat down, and I was pretty tired then! But as I watched one of the Masterclass shows from The Great British Baking Show, I got all the backing bits and batting sorted out. Everything is sorted as I go. The only left is to bind those quilts!

Watching the baking show as I sort out the bits of batting and backing

I still have eleven small quilts to quilt, and this is what I have left of the polyester batting. I should be able to get four quilts, perhaps five quilts from that. The rest will be done using scraps of the 80/20, which I usually use. All is good, NOTHING is going to waste, and there is NOT much going into the scrap bin. 

The remainder of the polyester batting

I got the second row of hexagons completely stitched on and have started adding the third row. That cardstock is pretty stiff! I have four extra hexagons; I'll add them to this layout since they are prepped. I'll wait until that third row is one before I figure out their location. But it's all good -- focus, onwards, and upwards! My progress is slow, but I don't care!

The hexagon block for Green Tea

Something else has been languishing on the cutting table, and I decided to get busy and try and finish it up. It's the "I Can't Believe it's a Sweatshirt" jacket. The only thing left is to finish the cuffs and the edges of the jacket. The pattern said to turn the edge under and hem it, but that's a lot of bulk, so I decided to make bias binding. 

Bias binding for the jacket

The diameter of the cuff is 10.5 inches, and that would be a challenge to join the binding when it's on the cuff. So I figured out the length of bias binding needed (tricky because of the diagonal points at the strip's end), cut an appropriate length, and then joined it together. 

Cutting the bias binding

Then I inserted the binding on the inside of the sleeve. 

Putting the binding inside the cuff

And stitched it on the sewing machine. I cut the bias binding at 2.25" because there was only one layer, but it should have been 2.5", but that's OK -- it will have to do! 

Sewing the binding to the cuff

The cuff was too small to fit onto the free arm of any of my machines, so I had to be careful to not catch the back of the cuff as I was sewing. 

Sewing the cuff edge on the outside of the jacket

But it turned out amazing, and I have both cuffs done! I thought about hand stitching that in place, but seriously --- I'm not doing that -- it's a sweatshirt jacket! 

The binding on the cuffs is DONE!

As I was lying in bed trying to figure out how to make a nice top edge (the sweatshirt collar is still attached), I decided to carefully remove the collar (yes -- I know it'll make the neck that much larger) and then I'll put binding all around the entire outer edge of the jacket. Way easier, and it'll look much nicer! 

So while I'm quilting, I'm not able to get too much else done, but I'm puttering. I need to start getting the fall classes prepped (OK -- so I don't need to start just yet, but why not?) One of the classes is the one on pre-cuts, and well, I've been searching for patterns and taking pictures, and yesterday, I finally chose the fabric to use for a couple of quilts. 

If you are NOT into pre-cuts, this would still be a beneficial class, as I will touch on how to choose a pattern for a particular style of fabric. What works best, what to watch for, etc. I'm actually learning a lot as I prep! And if you don't want to make a quilt, that's perfectly fine --- you can just gather the information! 

This one is hosted by the Hobby Horse and costs $25.00 for 10 one-hour sessions. Where else can you get that kind of information (from me) for that price?? It will be a great class, and I'm super excited about using up some of my pre-cuts! Check it out and get on the class list!!!! If you don't have pre-cuts, I'll show you what to use instead! But once and for all, we are going to USE those pre-cuts!

More computer work got done, but there are still a few more e-mails to send. I hope to get a few more done today. I'll be out shoe shopping this afternoon when my feet have swelled! Apparently, your feet start to swell in the morning, which makes sense, and stop swelling around 4 PM, so you should go shoe shopping in the later afternoon or evening. Who knew? 

Well, we'll see what I end up with for shoes. At the moment, I'm just looking for everyday walking shoes, but I have particular demands in the style -- can't be a mesh upper, which eliminates a lot of styles. Why do I walk with my big toes UP? 

I tried using this iron, even though it's leaking, and I've given up! So if anyone wants a perfect iron for DRY pressing only -- it's yours! I tried it dry, but I'm a steam girl, so this doesn't work for me. But lots of people are using misters or water bottles, and if you are one of those and want a new iron --- this could be yours!!! 

An iron up for grabs

I think that covers my exciting but exhausting day! Seriously --- why do I get myself into these "challenges?" Because that's what motivates me, and if I can get those 60 quilts done, then I'll have about ¼ of the community quilts done -- in ONE month! That would be very impressive. There's absolutely ZERO rush to get them done. I've checked with my local chapter of Quilts of Valour, and they have a stash of quilts waiting to be handed out, so they don't need more right now. 

So the rest of the quilts will sit where they are, and now I know that I can push and get quite a few done in a pretty short time, and before you know it -- -I'll have all those community quilts done! The trick will be to stay on top of them, so I don't get that backlog. That seems to be my biggest problem -- I can't foresee the situation (and the sheer quantity of things) too far down the road. This is why I'm trying to make other people see --- like in how much fabric one accumulates! 

OH --- I almost forgot -- there's a Virtual Retreat this weekend!!! The links will pop up in a separate blog post as I had everything prepped since I was supposed to be away, so I won't repost them here! That's Saturday evening and from Noon on Sunday!!!

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

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

I NEED a new long arm

Oh dear --- the inevitable happened this morning. I decided that I need a new long arm. However, I don't think that is going to happen unless I win the lottery. Fortunately, there is "nothing" wrong with mine, except this. 

As I mentioned the useable space on my machine is 17". I know it looks like more in the picture, but with the size of the head and the spacing required, plus allowing for the quilt to roll up (which doesn't take much as it gets compressed on the roller), I end up with 17" or workspace. I learned the hard way, that you cannot push that! 

The useable workspace on the long arm

However, the top of the line Millie is this! That machine is a full TEN inches wider than mine! 

The Millie 30 inch machine!

This new software version makes it a breeze to quilt more rows and now I find I'm limited by that smaller throat space! I could get an extra row in! 

And then this happened yesterday. 

I decided that with the quilt on the machine I needed to raise the hopping foot a bit so it didn't drag so much on the napped fabric. How does one do that? 

Well, there is a tiny hole on the side of the machine and you stick a screwdriver in there BLIND and hope you can find the screw to loosen it. 

Finding the screw to raise the hopping foot

I found the screw after much fumbling and was able to loosen the foot. Then the question was how to find the screw again to tighten it up. That was NOT happening. 

So the foot is loose, now how to tighten the screw

So I had to turn the machine off and start to disassemble it. The stand for the computer had to come off. That was easy -- one screw and the computer (tablet) was gone) 

The tablet holder has to be removed

I had to remove a small front cover, so I could open the panel on the side of the machine head. This was NOT the side that the screw was on, but it at least allowed me to see inside and get some more light in there. I did find a few errant threads so I got rid of those and cleared all the dust and lint out. Then I found the screw and tightened up that foot. I left it at the original height. Otherwise, I would have had to disassemble the thing again to change the foot back. Why didn't I take the other side off? The tension mechanism and thread guides are there, so it's more complicated. 

Inside the head of the long arm

However, I was feeling in a fix-it mind frame, so I managed to fix the black knob for the light. It was hanging out that hole and not really secure. That happened years ago and I never bothered to fix it. Now it's fixed and back snug against the machine! 

The knob for the light is fixed

And I've quilted a couple of quilts since and all is good! I must say that is one thing about these mechanical machines --- the only tools required are Allen Keys and screwdrivers. But if you get into the electronics? Well, then you need a prayer and luck!

So why did I want that foot raised? This next quilt was some sort of napped fabric and when I was basting it in place, I could see the marks the hopping foot was leaving on the quilt. After my little incident, I just said -- who cares and quilted it. 

Community project quilt - DONE

So you can see the tracks where the foot went. Once the quilt is washed, I don't think it will be a big deal. 

The tracks from the hopping foot in the napped fabric

So that one is done, but I need to find some binding for it. And this one is also done. 

Community project quilt - DONE

So that is another two quilts for community projects -- DONE!! I am ripping through the piles of quilts, but pacing myself. It's a lot of work to get them quilted, prepped, and trimmed and you can't really do too much else while that is happening. I need to get the bobbin sensor thing installed on my machine. I have it, but not installed, so I should do that! It would help eliminate the babysitting! 

I don't know if you noticed the purchase price for that new machine -- it was $25,000 US. Then you add in the software, and the table, and the motor to advance the quilt, and, and, and -- and you are probably looking at $50,000 US!!! Yep--- it's not going to happen unless I win the lottery! I'll just be happy with what I have! 

But here's the thing --- changing the height of the hopping foot is MUCH easier on the newer machines. There is a much larger hole so you can actually look inside and see the screw. I bet when they made my machine, they never thought people would want to do that! It's just like the sewing machines --- the older one will do the same as the newer ones, but it's 10 times easier on the newer ones, plus they have new bells and whistles - just like that Millie 30! 

However, I have paid for that software and will get LIFETIME updates and upgrades. That is well worth the price I paid for it! And this upgrade has been amazing. I can't wait to get into my own quilts and start doing some crazy stuff!!! Let's just say that I'm happy I did the upgrade and while I should have done it sooner (it was released in April), I didn't really have the time to get familiar with it. Now I have the time and I'm loving it!

I again took advantage of the fact that DH is away this morning, so the first quilt of today is already done. It's still on the long arm and I'll take it off and switch to the next one once the girls have gone for their walk. 

I have finished the flannel quilts! At least the smaller ones. And I've two larger quilts that are on the slate for today. I'm using that giant quilt batt and had to cut it down to size before I could use it. I think I still have polyester batting for about 6 quilts! I'm being very careful to make it go as far as possible. There are a couple of smaller quilts and I hope to use up all the little bits for those two. 

Cutting the batting to size

Oh yes -- the software does weird things. In this instance, it went to the bottom of the quilt and finished the partial row, then went back up and finished the full row. Why?? I've no idea. Do I need to know? Probably not, but it's interesting to see how this thing works. 

Quilting the last rows on the long arm

So the good news is, I'm not wearing any bandages on my toes. The only one I was wearing was the one where the toenail is going to go. More just to protect it from snagging on anything. I decided to throw caution to the wind and no more bandages. But I did slather my feet with some cream and put on light socks. I get a twinge from that toe every once in a while and I think the toenail -- well, I won't put that image in your head. But we'll see what happens. The good news -- I can go shoe shopping. That's going to happen tomorrow. 

No more bandages

I'm working on my hexagon block for Green Tea. When have I ever been this focused on handwork? The rows were completed during Monday sewing -- this was the perfect thing to do while chatting with the group! And gosh --collectively we are SMART!! 

My rows of hexagons are together

Then I had the fun job of sewing the rows together. I don't know that there is a good or perfect way to sew hexagons together. It's all about twisting and turning to make it happen. And I like to stitch towards myself rather than away as I find that easier. 

I used a cardstock which is probably just a wee bit heavy, but it worked. 

Sewing the rows together

And when I watched one of the Masterclass shows of The Great British Baking Show and I almost got two rows together. I WILL get this done! I'm through with partially completed "current" projects! I mean leaving them because I have something more interesting I want to do. It's all about focus and perseverance. 

Two rows of hexagons are almost together

Shoot --- this is NOT the picture I wanted, but it's so hard to get pictures of the sky living in the city. When I went for my walk, the thunderclouds were spectacular. When I got to this point, they were less impressive, but still impressive!

Thunder clouds

I need to sit at the computer today and get some work done. Not much, but a few e-mails that need to be sent. Now that I have a good start on today's quilts, I'll have time before lunch to make that happen. Then I hope to turn on the sewing machine and get some sewing done! Besides, I have a quilt back for one of tomorrow's quilts to sew together!

WOW --- I am feeling super productive these days. Yes -- there are MANY quilts that need to be bound, but I am focusing on quilting them at the moment. Then I can take a break and sew the bindings on! I do get a bit obsessed!

And I finished another physical book last night and no audiobooks. I think the audiobooks are a bit of a distraction unless I"m doing absolutely mindless work. You can't focus on two things at the same time and do either well, so I'm taking a break from the audiobooks for a bit. 

On that note -- I'm out of here! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

More community project quilts

 So much to say, so little time! 

I'm going gangbusters with these community project quilts, and I have a goal in mind as to what I want to accomplish with my downtime. That sounds like a bit of an oxymoron, but you know what I mean. Then once those quilts are done, it'll be time to get back to customer quilts -- there are a "few" waiting to be done. 

Here are the two quilts from yesterday. I know -- some of these look like the same quilt, but they are NOT. 

Community project quilt - DONE

Community project quilt - DONE

Anyway, both are trimmed and ready for the binding to be attached. 

Here's the stack of trimmed quilts waiting for binding! 

Quilts waiting to be bound

Here are those piles I mentioned yesterday. There are two (or, in one case, three) quilts in each pile. Diane very conveniently labeled the sizes on each quilt top which was super handy! Good thinking, Diane! I tell you, a label on anything will save enormous amounts of time!

Quilts waiting to be quilted

Here are the two quilts that are waiting for the next day. Usually, there is only one quilt there overnight as the second one has been loaded on the long arm. 

Quilts pressed and waiting to be quilted

And there's a pile of two quilts at the ironing board waiting to be pressed for the following day. I did NOT take a picture of that. 

To be fair to the computer software on the long arm, I decided to do stuff in Power Panto so I could get familiar with it so when I needed it, I would be good. I worked on a couple of circular patterns, and yep--- you get perfect circles using Power Panto. You cannot do that in Basic. You can get close, but you can't get perfect. 

Perfect circles in Power Panto

Doing these small quilts has been a super place to learn all the ins and outs of the software, and I had zero glitches yesterday. That makes the day go faster because you don't have to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. So it must have been an operator error those first two days. 

I will say that the software is much more accurate in measuring than before. There was always significant runoff on the sides or sometimes the bottom. I've not had any issues with the bottom, although I still fudge the numbers to compensate for the quilt rolling, and I'm bang on with my measurements! 

However, there's a new feature in the software that you can crop the pattern right at the bottom, but I don't need it! Yep -- this is not my first rodeo with that software! It gets a bit more complicated with larger quilts so that cropping feature will come in handy later. 

And you can see in this picture how skimpy I am with the batting --- it's almost the same size as the quilt. This is NOT what you want to do with customer quilts - a little bit of forgiveness on the sides is crucial to perfecting the edges. Again, I've been doing this for a long time, so I know where to skimp and where not to skimp!

I'm skimping on the batting

OH --- here are two more piles of community project quilts sitting out -- one is a basket of the eleven Quilts of Valour quilts I want to do, and the other is lap-sized flannel quilts. I have some goals, and well -- let's see how much I can get done in the allotted time! 

More community project quilts

I already took advantage of the fact that DH isn't home this morning, and one of the quilts for today is already done. It's still on the long arm, but it's quilted! Only one more to do today. 

I'm down to batting for two more quilts - maybe three since a couple of them are a bit smaller than the others and then I have to start on that bag of batting I found. Those battings are so compressed in the plastic bags that one must get them OUT of the bag and let it decompress. Getting it out of the bag was a challenge, and I'm guessing I can get seven quilts from this batt. 

Compressed batting

Letting it relax

Have you noticed the plethora of quilted jacket concepts these days??? It's on the cover of two recent magazines. 

Quilted jackets are big!

My cousin, the "expert" in genealogy, is amazing. She has been able to dig back to reveal BOTH sets of my great-great-great grandparents on my Mom's side. We even have headstone pictures of one set of them and still working out some details for the others. It's a challenge, to say the least, and I've been saving all the attachments she has sent into folders that are labeled by name! I have some information on some members, like when they emigrated to Canada, family members alive for several censuses, gravestones, etc. 

She suggested I take a trip to England and I might have to! In the meantime, I've contacted people in Owen Sound and Durham (Ontario), and well, I think a trip is in order. The library in Durham has digitized a bunch of stuff, and they have books on family histories. I'll call them today to find out if it's online or if I should make a trip. It's not that far, and what a hoot for a day trip!

My cousin is so modest about her ability, but she's amazing! Thank you, Shirley!!!

This is the dog situation at our house. This is Murphy, who loves to play ball and will fetch the ball and then sit outside the door and gently bark, "play ball with me.". "Play ball with me NOW!" She's so cute! 

"Waiting to play fetch here!" 

And then either I throw it in the pond, or she does, but she stands on the rocks and barks! "Help me -- the ball is in the pond, and I'm NOT allowed in! I'm such a good girl!"

"Mom, HELP!"

Meanwhile, the princess just lays on the deck and ignores everything. 

Princess Lexi

Since DH wasn't home and the TV wasn't on, I sat in the kitchen and read my book. Guess what? "MOM -- you have to play ball with me!" Yep, there was Murphy and me, playing ball, and it's pitch black outside. I would throw the ball into the bushes on the far side of the pond, and she had zero problems locating the smelly thing and bringing it back!

Playing ball in the dark!

Oh, shoot --- that darn e-mail will NOT sync so I can add two more pictures, and I'm live streaming the Queen's funeral, so it's with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to her. What a dignified and lovely lady; whether you believe in the monarchy or not, you can't deny what a wonderful person she was. And some stories about her "wicked" humor just make me laugh! What a lady! RIP Queen Elizabeth. One of my middle names is Elizabeth, and I believe my mom used that name because of the queen. 

This is why you walk around the neighborhood. You get to see all kinds of cool things and how they change. It's all how you look at it. So many people opt for these black metal signs with the house number and the street on them. They look nice, and this one got installed several weeks ago, but I had not paid much attention to it until yesterday. 

What's wrong with this picture?

Do you see what I see???  OMG  --- the FONT of the letters is NOT the same as the numbers. Ooops!!!!  I'd be sending that one back. I wonder if anyone noticed, particularly the homeowners??? 

Well, that's it for me. It's Monday sewing, and I have the perfect project to work on so I can talk and work simultaneously!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!