Divide and Conquer

I need to use The Task Master more often. I got a lot done yesterday. YES - in the back of my head, I know what needs to be done, but that doesn't always mean that I focus on that. I'm easily distracted! 

Knowing that I have a list that I can check off and keeping it open on the ironing board makes me focus on what I should be doing, not what I want to do!

So there are 13 items on the list this week - that might be a bit ambitious, but some of them are not very big, so I think I'm OK. And I have already crossed TWO items off the list and partially completed two other tasks!! I guess when (and if - of course, I will!) finish that list, then I can do whatever I want? I'll see how it goes. 

It is a busy week with appointments and Zoom meetings. Things are starting to open up around here, and I can already feel the "pressure" to go places. Well, not really, but there are some places that I need to go to now that things are opening up. I LIKE my cocoon!!

Anyway, I like The Task Master. It's like a "Divide and Conquer" strategy. I MUST keep using it, and then I'll have a record of what I worked on when. So what was I working on yesterday? 

Well, I have 30 pillowcases to prep this week. I'm happy to report that 20 of them are ready to be sewn. The next ten will require searching for matching fabrics, washing and ironing them before I can cut them. I'll try to search for fabrics this afternoon. 

Five more pillowcase kits

So that was good to get those organized. I also got the bindings on my two magazine projects that need to put in the mail later today. I'm thrilled with both of them, and every time I make something, it becomes an experiment. I think experimenting is the most important reason for me to make something. I don't care (more or less) about the finished item, except what did I learn from it! I quilted them two different ways - well, two different types of patterns. That was fun. And the blocks themselves? They were made with scraps several years ago. 

For the life of me, I can't remember why I had these weird-shaped offcuts. I recognize the fabrics, but not the project where they came from. It doesn't matter - those scraps are now a couple of cute little projects. And that gives me so much satisfaction! It's weird - I have all this stash, and yet, I have the most fun with the scraps! I have another bag of similar-shaped off-cuts. I know what I'll be doing with them!

Plus, the bindings, which got put on with the sewing machine, are PERFECT. I think I've got this technique down pat, and I LOVE it. But here's one of the biggest issues. I need to find a thread that matches the binding. 

Can you believe that I had to use this NEON yellow yesterday? 

Neon yellow thread

I mean, first off, who in their right mind buys neon yellow thread? Well, for some reason, I did. OH - I remember; I recently found this in a bag of supplies. Well, it wasn't recent, but within the last year or two. I wouldn't even have known that I had that thread if it wasn't put with the other threads. See how important it is to have all your supplies in one spot? Within seconds, I found this thread. 

And YES - it matches my GREEN binding. It's not a perfect match, but so darn close, you can't see the thread. I'm happy!

The neon thread matches the binding

I managed to get one more of the small flannel quilts for the community projects quilted!! And the best news? It's trimmed and ready for the binding to be put on. Diane had already made the binding, so that helps. That was NOT on the list of things to do this week. That was a bonus, and I did it while we were sewing for Monday Sewing. See? I got a LOT more done by sewing at home with Zoom than if I had gone to sew in person. Time is important for me, and I can still keep in touch with my friends!!!

Community projects quilt - DONE

I want to get one more small quilt done this week, so there will be three when MIL needs more work to do. YES -- I can keep ahead of her, and I WILL get rid of this pile of quilts that Diane has put together. It's a WIN-WIN!!!!

It was a weird weather day. It was cold in the morning when I went out, and then it started to rain, so the walks got cut a bit short. And right after Monday Sewing, I went out for my afternoon walk. Thank goodness for that because around 4 PM, the skies opened, and it poured for a LONG time. This wasn't just rain; this was a torrential downpour!

It's a downpour

It was crazy!!! And oh boy -- these pictures look like I've messed up the setting on my phone again. They are very long and narrow. Hmmm - I have to remember how to switch that back. 

Pouring buckets!

So this is what I worked on this morning. I'm participating in the barn block sew along with Thimbles and Things. Each month we get a new barn block to sew. The pattern is written for an 18" block. But that is just too darn large for me, so I've been downsizing all the blocks to 9". The reduced size is a much nicer scale, and I'm using the same colorway (for all the blocks) instead of using the mixed colors from the original blocks. Since each farm chose its own colors, they have been all over the place in colors.  

Some of the blocks have been super easy. And some, not so much. This one was a challenge to design. While you could technically call it a 9-patch, the three sections are NOT equal, and well, it took me a while to figure it out. Usually, I can just look at the block and recreate it. Not this one; I needed the actual original measurements so I could figure out the ratio between the corners and the center section. 

And then, even though EQ8 gives me cutting instructions, I don't always follow them. I like MY way of cutting better than EQ8. So that required a bit more math. Again, I applied that divide and conquer technique. I started with the corners and worked my way out. 

I'm happy to report that the center section is together, as are the four corners. The middle sections are cut and just need to be sewn, which won't take that long. I thought it was going to be worse than it really was. This one is called Moonstone's Twist Star. If you check out the original color - it's ORANGE and yellow, but I stuck with my neutral colorscheme. Check out this map if you want to see the other blocks. There are a LOT of them now. It would be fun to take a Barn Block Trip!!

My barn block

To give you an idea of the scale, those little black and white half-square triangles are ONE INCH finished. The bonus task this month is to make the block that appeared on the side of the garage at Fireside Retreat. Since we spent so much time there, I really want to make the block. It's a bit complicated, and YES, I could reproduce it, but I decided to ask for the resized pattern, and then all I have to do is make it. 

Once I get these two blocks done, I'll take a picture of all the blocks I have so far. I'm not sure how many we'll have at the end, but since my blocks are smaller, I need 18 blocks to make the lap-sized quilt, and after these two blocks, I'll have 10. I think we go until August with this session of the blocks, so that'll give me three more, and I think Sue was going to continue the project next year. I'll see how it goes; otherwise, I'll choose another 5 blocks to fill in my quilt. I might just do it on my own - I'll go to the map and select blocks that I like. One of the blocks would be good to use as the label. Another project to make up as I go!!

As I was making this block with a deadline of Thursday- HEY - I might have it done a few days early! I remembered one year, where I spent most of the year making things that had a deadline. Block of the Months, sew along, etc. The ENTIRE year was devoted to things that had been decided by others. YES - I was the one that chose to do those things, but still, you didn't want to fall behind, or there were deadlines. 

I'll never do that again. I want some freedom with what I do! Even now, I'd say that I'm at the max. So next year, I might back down on one or two projects to have a wee bit more flexibility. But I'm getting stuff cleaned up, so I'm good with all that. 

Well, that's it for today. Our embroidery software club is today (I LOVE the embroidery club), and one presentation. Then the rest of the day is MINE, but the next quilt is loaded on the long arm, and I really want to get that one done today. The list of customer quilts for this month isn't huge, but it needs to be done. After this week, I'm going to have a ton more flexibility with my schedule. I can hardly wait.

On that note, I'm out of here. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Productivity on the rise!

 

I was on a roll yesterday, and I never did get out on the bike. I was exhausted by dinner time, and I could barely do some stretching, let alone get out on the bike! 

Well, it was a super productive day, and honestly, we need to be careful what we wish for!  

So, I've decided that I need to resurrect The Task Master. What is that? It's simply a notebook where I write down what I need/want to accomplish that week. Why did I resurrect it? I want to be able to see what I've accomplished in the week. I get to the end of the week and wonder what did I do all week? So I wrote down several quilting tasks that need to be done this week or ones that I want to accomplish. 

The Task Master notebook

The trick is to NOT over-commit. I hope I didn't do that on the first week back. I think I was pretty reasonable, and then when I finish something, I get to check it off! That's a glorious feeling. I'll do it for a couple of weeks to get myself back on track, and then I might abandon it again. I do love seeing what I've done in the past weeks. 

It was a busy day at the long arm. First, I got this customer quilt done. I'll be trimming it this morning. 

Customer quilt - DONE

I was on a roll, so I decided to load one of the small flannel quilts that Diane sewed, and I got that quilted as well. It's trimmed and ready to bind. 

Community Projects quilt - DONE

And I wasn't ready to stop there. I had a small project that needed to be quilted, and I was going to do it on my domestic machine, but then I thought - I can get it done quick on the long arm so that one is also done and trimmed. A second small project is on the long arm, ready to go this morning. Can't show you either of them - they're going into a publication. 

So you see why I was exhausted? WAIT -- there's more. 

Here's the deal - we know that we all have so much fabric that we'll never get a chance to sew it all up. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have someone sew for you? Well, I now have TWO people sewing up the community projects stuff. And BOTH of them are good sewists who keep me on my toes to have stuff ready for them. 

I just gave Diane a large laundry basket of stuff, and she's going through that to make kits and eventually quilts. I've no idea what was in that basket. My MIL was bored and ran out of things to sew, so did I have something for her? I gave her three quilts to bind, which she ended up doing by hand. She had 30 pillowcases to make and a string quilt to finish making the blocks. 

As you saw last week, she already finished the binding on the three quilts. I spoke to her yesterday, and she has 23 of the 30 pillowcases done. I'm sure she's finished them now. So I have to get busy and keep stuff prepped for her to sew. She's in her 80's and doesn't have rotary cutting tools, so I do all the cutting. 

Let's just say that all that pillowcase fabric is now cut up! 

I created 22 more complete pillowcase kits. 

Pillowcase kits

And this is all that's left from that large stack of fabrics. 

The leftover bits from cutting pillowcases

And there are still bodies and bands that need to be matched. I'll go through the stash boxes this week to find something that'll work with these. I'll wash the fabric and get it cut later this week. My goal is to have 30 more pillowcases prepped for her. 

Pillowcase bands and bodies

When I cut the other fabrics, I didn't necessarily cut them to the correct length. So I quickly learned that by placing the band on top of the body, I could get both of them cut to the correct length. 

Cutting the band and the body of the pillowcase

There are 15 pillowcases currently prepped and ready to sew. There are another 6 or 7 that are cut but need to be trimmed to the right length. For the remainder of my 30 for this week, I need to search for fabrics. 

My goal is 100 pillowcases, and that's it - I'll be done with pillowcases. So there won't be a pillowcase sewing day this year. Of course, there probably wouldn't have been anyway. 

Here's the scrap box!!!

My scrap box is overflowing again!

So if MIL is going to bind quilts for me, I'd better keep ahead of her. I can't complain because this might be just the incentive I need to get to work on those quilts that Diane has sewn. And I still have more that I made a while back, and those are still waiting to be quilted. I don't even want to know the number of Community Projects quilts that need to be quilted. BUT - this is a good thing - I have the batting for a lot of them, and if I could get those quilts done, it would clear up a HUGE section in that storage room. 

Once I'm done with my project on the long arm today, I'm putting another kid's quilt on it and hope to get that done today. I'll give her three at a time. I dug another string quilt from my retreat box, and instead of finishing the blocks, I'll give it to her. Yikes -- this could be a big deal to keep up with her. 

Does anyone have stuff they want to be sewn?? She's an EXCELLENT seamstress. I do have some clothing fabric that I might pull out and get her to make me some stuff. But, oh boy -- we've created a monster. I have to tell her to slow down that there is NO RUSH for any of this stuff. 

As a treat, I took the girls to the dog park. I don't know why I go, there aren't many dogs there when we arrive, but I think that's OK. Lexi tries to play with the other dogs. Murphy gets jealous and tries to herd everyone, barking at the top of her lungs while she does it. She gets scolded and then doesn't interact with any other dog. Her only goal at the park is to play ball (OK - that's her only goal in life), and she likes to herd other dogs. 

Murphy at the dog park

When we got home, DH had put her food in her dish. The first thing Murphy does when we arrive home is to get to the water dish. She's thirsty because she has worked herself into a frenzy. She had her drink and then came to find me. When we got back to the kitchen, she was staring at her food dish. She WILL NOT touch it until she gets THE command. It's either one word or a little finger wave, and she's good, but she won't budge. Yet, when she starts to eat, she inhales the food. And she knows she has to SIT, or she won't get the command. 

Waiting for THE command

What I want to know is why? Why is this dog so good with the SIT command and waiting for her food, but she has only two speeds when she's on the move - STOP and FAST? And what's with the ball thing? She could play all day and never tire out. 

I decided to go shopping yesterday, so I stopped by the hardware store to get some wood glue to fix my IKEA shelf. NO line-ups although I was fourth in line to pay for my purchase, which was OK. The line went fast. But people - when you are NEXT in line, pay attention. Don't be messing with your phone. 

My wood glue

I'm reading some old issues of Cloth, Paper, Scissors STUDIO magazines. I swear that every fourth studio they show has one of those IKEA tables with the sawhorse legs. It's hilarious. 

Speaking of IKEA, did you know they sell sewing machines??? They may not sell it any longer as I did not see it on the IKJEA website, 

IKEA sewing machine

Well, it's my favorite day of the week - it's MONDAY!! And we get to sew with the Monday sewing group. Yeah - I'm so glad we're on Zoom. It means that I get to quilt on the long arm at the same time, and that saves me a whole lot of time. Plus, I can work on prepping those pillowcases and other things that need to be done, and I couldn't do that if we met in person. 

I did clean up a bit more paperwork yesterday. Not nearly as much as I would have liked, but every paper I deal with is a blessing. It'll all go - it's just going to take time. 

It's a jam-packed week. I've got MANY Zoom calls all week, and I hope to get some sewing and quilting done between them. 

On that note, I'm out of here!!! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Quilter's SIXTH sense

 

I'm not sure where this came from, but I have a Quilter's SIXTH sense. Too often, I've just winged something because I was too lazy to do the math. I forged ahead and figured if I ran into trouble that I'd come up with Plan B. Well, it happened this morning. I can't show you the picture because it's for my UFO homework, but I worked on a border.

The pattern said I needed FOUR sections, and I only had three. Now what? Well, I went ahead with the three sections. I sewed and cut and trimmed and started pinning, and CAN YOU BELIEVE that there was EXACTLY the amount that I needed with three sections. I did NOT need the FOURTH. I almost fainted when I realized! Yahoo!!!!! The big question now is, will I be able to get it completed by 11 AM this morning? 

I can't believe I had the presence of mind to figure that out when I was cutting this project many years ago, but perhaps I did? If I did - I made no notes to that effect in the pattern. 

As I survey the studio, I realize that I need to resurrect my Task Master. This is literally a TO-DO list to keep me on track for the week. While I'm making HUGE progress - leaps and bounds in progress, there are a few things that are getting set aside day after day. That just can't happen, and there are lots of little things to tidy up. So the Task Master is going to get back into use. I'll be writing out a list of the little jobs that I WANT to get done, and each morning, I'll consult the list to see what I'm allowed to work on that day.

And there's so much swirling in my head that I need to write it down to make me feel better. And the best part? I'll get to check those things off as I get them done! I think I need TWO good days, and I could clear up a ton of stuff, which would make the room look a whole lot tidier! I'm not going to have two solid days this coming week, but I'll do what I can between my eleven presentations. I'm tired of some of these half-finished things hanging around. Like - sew the backing together and get it off the cutting table. Little things like that. 

I also have some machine embroidery samples that I want to make for my book. So there will never be a loss of what to do at my house!

As I was looking through stuff this morning to see what I could put on my UFO list for next month, I discovered three partially completed blocks, and guess what else I found??

Lost tools 

Yep - that would be some tools. I was wondering where that template thing went to! I have a second similar one, but I wanted this one about a month ago. This is the problem with putting tools and supplies in a project box. Well, these blocks will be on my UFO list this coming month, and then they can be put back in their appropriate spot. Good grief!!! I can only imagine how many other tools and supplies I'm going to find as I go through these UFOs. 

I did get out for a walk yesterday afternoon. It was a glorious day! Yes - a bit refreshing, but it was amazing to get out, and once I got walking, I warmed up. I notice that it's Pedestrian Safety Month in our city! Too bad signs like this won't make people more aware of their surroundings. I think this one is aimed at pedestrians. 

Pedestrian Safety Month

And this one is aimed at motorists. I don't know how many times I was almost hit this summer as people came flying around a corner to turn right and didn't stop. It hasn't happened much lately as I'm taking a slightly different route. 

Another sign for pedestrian safety

I was on Zoom for several hours yesterday, as a host and as a participant. No issues. The lag time is practically nil when I present my slides. I'm in heaven and even admitted to DH last night over dinner that the month of hell was worth it. Well - we shouldn't have had to go through that, but we learned something, and BELL should have as well. As a matter of fact, I might call back the escalation center and offer them some advice - politely, of course. So if you upgraded your service and are still having issues, chances are that the PAIR of wires that are needed for the upgrade is NOT pairing with each other. Just ask that a new wire be run, and you should be good. I seriously believe that our original line had issues as the internet was unstable on many occasions, but it didn't drop - with the new lines - no issues. 

Guess who went crazy in the backyard yesterday? You would swear that something bad was happening. Oh - we have a visitor, and it got stuck in a tree right by the fence. Let's just say that it took a wee bit of convincing to get her to calm down and come into the house. Bad dog Murphy!!!

A raccoon trapped in the tree

Don't forget that TODAY is the last day for the Trend-tex challenge. Create an account and place a bid. I don't know what time the bidding closes today. I've decided to only bid on my own. I like that one (obviously). There are loads of other great pieces. It's totally amazing to see the different ideas that people conjured up with the same theme and the same fabric. Even if you don't want to bid - be sure to check out the pieces. Today is the LAST day!!! 

Another busy day - UFO and a class on EQ8 this afternoon. And there will be time to get that walk in. I'll be updating you on the Virtual Walks later this week. Let's just say that GREAT progress is being made! I'm getting very excited! 

Don't forget to mark in your calendar the Virtual Retreat dates. Saturday, November 21, and Sunday, November 22. Saturday will be an evening event as I have a class in the afternoon, and Sunday will be ALL day. I can hardly wait!!!!

Can you believe that it's almost the end of October? Holy - the days and weeks are flying by. BUT I have to say that I'm filling each and every day with good things. So while the days are flying by, I don't feel like I'm losing those days. I see some paperwork is piling up on my desk and so I'd better get that in order today! 

Well, it's time to get the day rolling!!

Here's an easy task for you today. CALL someone who you haven't chatted with in a while! We must reach out to people. So even if you can't visit them, you can still visit by telephone!

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!

Productivity is on the rise

It was a super productive day! I love those kinds of days. If you're like me, you just can't sew fast enough to keep up with the ideas in your head. And these are NOT new ideas. These are just things that I find around the studio that I think will only take a few hours to finish, and well, days later, I'm still working on them. 

I decided it was time to get something finished instead of just thinking about finishing it or advancing the project.

The first thing to deal with was changing that light bulb at the bottom of the stairs. There are quite a few pot lights in the basement, so I thought I'd steal a bulb from one of those. The pot lights have all been disconnected, and I now have fluorescent light fixtures. Those silly lights are very hard to dislodge from the ceiling. I needed a putty knife and a chisel to make it happen. Yes, the ceiling got a wee bit damaged, but I got the darn bulb out. Don't worry - it's not noticeable unless you're looking for it.

All that effort and the lightbulb was dead. Some of the bulbs had died, so I decided to not keep going to find one that worked.

Removing the pot light from the ceiling

After lunch, I went for a walk to get a new bulb and to go to the bank. Our branch was under construction earlier this year, but it's open now. I see we have a new ATM for a total of 3.

Buying light bulbs is NOT my favorite thing. I always take one of the old ones with me to compare. I found this box and bought it. Lightbulbs are NOT cheap - two bulbs were $18 before tax. They are supposed to last 15,000 hours. What exactly does that mean? Well, if I left the light on 24/7, I'd get almost two years out of the bulb. I don't plan on leaving it on 24/7, so it should last a LONG, LONG time. We'll see - I find that the life listed on those lightbulbs is nowhere near what's advertised on the boxes. 

The new box of lightbulbs

I just need to write on the box what fixture the remaining lightbulb is for, and then it goes into the laundry room with the other bulbs.

I'm sure that all of you have been out shopping at some point since the pandemic. If you have, then you've seen all sorts of plexiglass barriers between cashiers and customers. Well, this is the most substantial barrier I've seen yet. It makes sense at Rona, where I hope they like to build things.

That's a plexiglass barrier!

And here's the new light installed! No danger of falling down the stairs in the dark!

The light is now working again

So lots of things have happened this year. Totally crazy things that none of us would have predicted at the beginning of the year. It's been since the middle of March that things went whacko in our neighborhood. What is the new sign of the times??? 

Social Distancing Marker

That would be the physical distancing markers that are EVERYWHERE!!!!

Well, I knew this was going to happen, and well - I'm prepared for it. My gym opened last week, and well - I signed up for the spin class next Wednesday. Loads of rules. Locker rooms are open - more rules. I'll see how it goes, but I miss the gym, and I can't wait to get back. Am I afraid? Of what?? There's nothing to be afraid of. Just be careful!

I started the day by finishing to trim the little half square triangles. These are all the triangles that were created from making flying geese in the Christmas Fig quilt.

Stack of trimmed half-square triangles

This is the bag of little half-square triangles so far. I'm not sure if there's going to be more. Now to come up with something to make with those.

All the half-square triangle cut-offs from Christmas Fig

Speaking of which, I don't think I posted the latest Christmas Fig blocks on my blog.

Block One for August

Block Two for August

I still have to stitch the applique shapes down in the second block. That's on the agenda for today. Yep - today is going to be another day of cleaning stuff up.

Next up was binding. I have that stack of quilts for Quilts of Valour and for Project Linus, and I need to get them done. So I started with this one, and the binding is now entirely on!

The binding on a Project Linus quilt

Yep - that one has plush on the back. Not sure where the plush came from, but it wasn't mine, so it got used as the backing e back of the purple quilt.

Then it was onto the next one. The binding for the purple quilt was already made. This massive length of binding was already prepared for a couple of fleece quilts, which are slated for Project Linus. I took squares of fleece and sewed them together and backed it with another big piece of fleece. The two layers of fleece got quilted - no batting.

A massive pile of binding

So the first of two fleece quilts got the binding completely stitched in place.

The binding on quilt number two

It feels great to get these quilts DONE. I've sent an e-mail to a contact person with Project Linus but still waiting for an answer. I hope she gets back to me soon as I would like to get these quilts out of my house.

I was on a roll and listening to an audiobook, so I continued on. I got the binding on the second fleece quilt, but only on the back. I'll stitch it to the front later today.

Binding is sewn to the back of the second fleece quilt

OK - time to change things up. I decided it was time to get to work on those UFOs of mine. The date is fast approaching for our next meeting - well, it's two weeks away, but I have FIVE things on my list.

Time to get that red and white log cabin done. The top is DONE. I didn't bother to put it on the design wall. I did NOT worry (too much) if the same fabric touched itself where the blocks joined. It's a scrappy looking quilt - get over it. The bottom line - the top is DONE.

Log cabin quilt top - DONE

I dug out some backing and got that done as well. And this morning, I made the bias binding for the quilt.

Making the bias binding

That was a LOT of bias binding, but starting off with a square is so easy!

And that's one more project that gets moved to the "to be quilted" pile.

Moved to the "to be quilted" pile

Yahoo - one item off my list for the UFO's this month. AND one more thing off the UFO list in the Task Master book. This quilt was on the UFO list for 2017. So I missed that deadline by a couple of years, but it doesn't matter. It's done.

There's ONE project left on the 2017 list. That's very exciting, and it's called Sleeping Dogs on the list, but it's actually the snail's trails block, and we know that all the blocks are done.

One item left on the UFO list for 2017

Oh yes - I'm thrilled with my UFO progress. Even though I'm not getting everything done in the year it goes on the list - I'm OK with that. Although there are 13 projects listed on this list, in fact, there are 22 quilts. Some of them had one, two, three, or four quilts on one line. So getting this list done is HUGE. I'll get that last quilt done soon, and then it's onto 2018, where there are only four items left on the list. And other than one quilt, I'm making progress on the other three.

All is good in the UFO finishing world.

I also got the 80 foundation squares cut for the next blue scrappy quilt. I'm leaving that out as I'd like to get that one done.

The next blue scrappy quilt ready to sew

Then I had to go shopping Chez Elaine to find some fabric to make the binding for a couple more quilts. And Diane needed some fabrics to finish off a couple of community project quilts. I hope to make a delivery to her today.

Don't worry - I had time to read, went for that walk, and even did groceries on my way home from the hardware store. I only pick up a few supplies since I'm walking. I'm perfectly OK with that. I didn't have to go for a walk in the evening, so I got more time to read.

The lilies in the pond are still blooming like mad. Some of the outer leaves are starting to die off, but it's bloomed furiously all summer.

The water lily is still blooming

And look at all those fish. It's always a feeding frenzy at lunchtime.

Fish feeding frenzy

 I did get some hair cutting scissors in the pharmacy at the grocery store. We have a few dogs around here with unruly hair, and so we had a little trimming session in the backyard.

Hair trimming scissors

 I would love to have a couple more days like yesterday. That should clear up quite a bit of stuff in Studio B. I hope to have a repeat today, but I'm also working on a custom quilt that I loaded yesterday.

Don't forget that NEXT weekend is the Virtual Retreat. That's Saturday, August 22, and Sunday, August 23. The start time is 9 AM EST. I can't wait!!!!

Well, I've got to get going.

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!

The dirty dozen (s)

So it was the last official Sit n Sew on Sunday. I had work to complete for a customer - you'll see in a minute, but I also had time to work on something for me.

Here's the deal - I made a list of 12 UFOs that I wanted to complete in 2017. I was silly and actually put thirteen items on the list - a bonus. How thoughtful of myself - NOT! There are still four items left to finish on that list. All of them are piecing (one has some fusible applique), but I don't think any of them would take too long to finish!

Then we have the list for 2018. Originally there were twelve items on that list and there's still six projects to finish.

And if we were to chat about the list for 2019 - oh - there's still ten on that list.

YEP - I'm going to make a new list for 2020. I know - call me silly, but I am making a vow to myself to NOT push these things off again.

I have a goal and that is to complete at least one item (hopefully more) from each of the three lists. Then to set out goals in The Taskmaster to get more completed this year. I've made enormous progress on some of them as they required hand applique or embroidery. So it's not like I've been slacking. I just go slowly.

Why am I telling you this? Because one of the projects I worked on at the Sit n Sew is an item from the 2018 list.

Remember all that applique I did earlier this year? On my Gingerbread quilt???  Well - it's almost together.

The blocks are trimmed, the embroidery ends are tucked in and the top is now in two pieces. I ran out of time this morning to get that last seam stitched. A job for later today.

The gingerbread quilt

This was started in 2007 as a Block of the Month at Jillybeans's in Oakville (long since closed) and over ten years later - it's almost done! The big issue now is borders. A long time ago, I had purchased this striped fabric which I thought would make a great border.

Now that I have the top together and see the fabric with the quilt, I'm not so sure.

Striped fabric for the border

The colors are PERFECT. I'm not sure if it's too busy? Or just not the right feel with all that applique, but I'm not convinced that this is what I should be putting on as the border.

The pattern calls for a plain border of the background fabric and I think I'm liking this better. The problem is that I don't have enough of the background fabrics to make that happen. Although I didn't look through the stash.

Plain border

 I'm sure that if I can't find the exact fabrics, I can find something that'll work. I'm sure any beige/light tan will work. I'm not worried about finding something to match up. Getting this quilt completed (not quilted) will be awesome and I can hardly wait to check it off on my list. BUT that's not going to be my one item on the 2018 list to be completed before the end of the year. OH NO - I have other plans. One of the other projects on the 2018 list is the UFO project I've been working on all year. I'm sick of that quilt and my goal is to get it completed as well.

Now I just need to schedule some days in the calendar that are UFO-related and I-m, good. I just scheduled THREE UFO days between now and the end of the year to get these projects done or at least as many as I can work in. Yeah --  and if those quilts weren't on any list, they wouldn't be on the radar. So the list isn't working quite as well as I wanted, but it's working and I'm sticking to it. My goal for this coming year is to focus on those lists. How will I do that? Through the UFO club which I'll chat about later this week. I might want to take some time today to actually find all those projects!

I told you, I'm so motivated that it hurts. And I'm focused on cleaning up this mess. I've seen huge leaps and bounds this past year so I know it can happen.

What else did I work on? Well - here's the customer project that I did. I have the "best" customers. They want something made, yet they don't want to make it so they ask me to do (for a price of course). Besides quilting quilts, I make labels and attach bindings. This time, I got to make a duvet cover using a quilt top. Yikes!! Nothing like trial by fire!

I started out by quilting the quilt top to a large piece of fabric. We used a quilt backing. That was to protect the seams from the pieced top from fraying. No batting.

The quilted top of the duvet cover. 

Then I trimmed off all the excess backing. The biggest job and thank goodness for the work tables was to trim the back of the duvet to match the front.

Trimming the back of the duvet cover

I pinned the heck out of those two pieces and serged up three sides. It even has loops inside to attach the duvet cover to.

Serging the duvet cover together

The edges on the opening were turned under and the snap tape was meticulously pinned in place and then sewn with the sewing machine.

Sewing the snap tape in place

The snap tape is now in place.

The snap tape is sewn into the duvet cover

There's the final duvet cover. It worked out way better than I imagined. The extra fabric behind the duvet cover provided a LOT of stability. I'm really happy with the project and would do it again and might even find something around here that would work to make one for myself.

The completed duvet cover

I also managed to get a customer quilt quilted. It's delivered.

Customer quilt - DONE

There are three more customer quilts to go this week. A Quilts of Valour quilt as well and then some of my stuff.

I've got almost THREE FULL weeks with NOTHING booked (except two private classes) and the rest of the time is mine to book how I want. It's starting to get filled with things for me. Like today is a clean-up day. A day that I am NOT allowed to reschedule. So far, I've been doing great with that aspect of it. I don't think I'll get to the office today as I still have a few things in the basement that need to be taken care of. It's all good. OH - I just booked a cleanup day for the office. No excuses now. I can't put it off any longer!

Even though today is a cleanup day, I have some paperwork to clean up so I guess that fits in the theme of the day.

Before I go, I will say that our monitored smoke detector works just fine. DH was merrily cooking something at extremely high heat (don't go there) and was standing right there as the meat (not for me) is merrily smoking away. Why???  I've no idea. Anyway - our standard smoke detector went off and then the monitored one went off. That's the one we have to pay attention to because the voice at the other end was prepared to send a fire truck. NO - we don't need a fire truck, but thank you for being there!!!

I should have taken a picture of that monitor when it was BRIGHT RED because of the triggered alarm. Or Murphy who was perched upon the ottoman (where she's not supposed to be) or Lexi cowering in her house because they were freaking out. All is good!

The fire alarm monitor

 In the event, I do tackle the office today or part of it, I took some "before" pictures. What a mess!

On that note, I'm out of here to hit that paperwork!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!