Pack ONLY what you need

Where did all this humidity come from? I don't mind the heat, but the humidity can be a killer—it makes everything feel damp! 

But I continue to walk—it's good practice for my upcoming trip. One thing that I'm very much looking forward to is that most of that walk will be done in the countryside or small villages, and there will be no cars or very few. The idiots in this area are, well, idiots! TWICE yesterday, people came whipping around a corner, looking left as I stood on their right! 

One must be vigilant and NEVER trust anyone. I'm not afraid to yell at them! 

It was a great day, as we had Monday Sewing, and I tried to focus a bit more. So what happened? I'll show you in one second, but all I can say is there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. 

The eagle is done. This was the only applique on one of the borders, but it involved many fiddly turns. This applique would be a breeze if the edges were straight or somewhat straight. But with the double blanket stitch, it takes a bit of thought as I'm stitching, especially when turning the corners. 

The sky borders are done! 

It's not perfect, but it's perfect enough for me!! 

Detail of the stitching

Once the applique on that border was complete, I stitched it to the central part of the quilt. YES --- I can definitely see the end, even though each quilt has FOUR more border sections and a LOT of appliques. Slow and steady!!!

Quilt Number One

And there's the second quilt with that one border stitched in place. 

Quilt Number Two

This morning, I went back to cutting out another applique project on the digital cutter, but I forgot to take pictures. This one will have the applique stitched using the embroidery machine. It is much faster but less relaxing. Or is it faster? It's certainly not cheaper! While finishing the edges might be quicker, it takes a lot of time to set it up so you can do the machine embroidery. 

Someone asked me why I didn't convert the patterns in Cabin in the Woods to machine embroidery. Well, I could have, but at least I used the digital cutter to cut them out. Sometimes, it's just way more hassle to deal with technology. And quite frankly, doing some stuff by hand is extremely important. Those kinds of things teach patience, and we all know that everyone in this world needs more patience. 

So, instead of focusing on the technology, I go within my brain and dream up other things while I'm stitching those appliques. I have zero issues with it once I get started! 

Well, I was going to take pictures of my stuff, but then I packed them in the backpack and forgot the pictures. Let's just say there is NOT much going in the backpack. My goal is to have that backpack weigh no more than 12 lbs. Just for fun, as I was packing, I decided to weigh the categories to see how much they weighed. The backpack itself weighs 2.2 lbs. The walking sticks weigh .9. My two pairs of shoes weigh 2 lbs. But I'll have one pair on at all times, so I won't technically carry all that on my back. My clothes weigh 3.1 pounds (still one pair of shorts to be added), but again, I'll be wearing part of the clothes, so I won't be carrying all that on my back. 

I reduced the medical supplies to the bare minimum—scissors, pills (just pain meds—which I hope I won't need), tape, gauze, and some small packs for bandaging open wounds like blisters, which I hope I won't need. 

Toiletries are also at a minimum—a small bar of soap and a tiny bottle of shampoo, along with toothpaste and a toothbrush, a comb, clippers, and maybe one or two other small items. One does not need much. 

The electronics are packed as well: three chargers, a keyboard, and a power converter. I'll wear my Fitbit, and I'll carry my phone, money, and all the important stuff in a small, flat waist pouch. 

After taking out the clothes I will wear when I leave, I weighed the backpack. Can you guess how much it weighs? 10.8 lbs. My snack bars are even included in that total! WOW -- I did excellent at the packing. I've seen people carry all kinds of optional stuff on a walking trip. Bottles of lotions, potions, heavy clothing, books, journals, etc. And while some people may feel they need those things, they all become super heavy when you carry them for 30 KM in high heat. 

It makes me chuckle when I think of packing for a regular visit somewhere—I try to put everything in a carry-on, and it usually weighs about 22 pounds. When I pack my sample bags, I'm trying to keep them under 50 lbs. And my little backpack is less than 11!!!

If there is anything I've missed, I can buy it there. I have to laugh because there is that last-minute panic-packing when I go on a quilt retreat. That NEVER happens on a walking vacation, and everything is something that I will use. I was contemplating throwing in an actual book, but I won't. I have an e-book on my phone and can download more if needed. 

I still have emails to send and errands to run, and there are still bags of mulch in the garage. Oops—I forgot about those. So it's going to be a busy day, but I have time, and I'm not in a panic. 

I have a couple of interesting articles to share with you. The first one is about an Olympic quilt, which is very cool. 

The second one concerns Quilter Tattoos. There are many other interesting blog posts on this site (Quiltfolk), but I still need to check them out. 

And that's a wrap for today. 

Have a super day!! Don't melt!

Ciao!!!!

I'm strapped

 Oh my gosh --- what a wild night we had. I'm unsure if I'm sick, but I didn't feel well when I went to bed. I was up several times but seem to be fine now, so let's hope all is well! I have no time to be sick!

I am definitely sewing in slow-motion mode -- since I've arrived, I've finished serving one T-shirt and made two small backpacks! Let's say that the backpack was a challenge! It was not a commercial pattern which is OK, but the person who wrote it could have been better at communicating, or perhaps it was an operator error. More likely that. But also, the style of the backpack needed to be changed somewhat. 

And I swear those straps were going to be the death of me. 

I was so happy when I got the bag together and turned it inside out, only to discover that I had twisted the straps. Seriously????? OK --- that was definitely an operator error. 

The straps are twisted!

So I ripped out the seams at the bottom, twisted the straps around properly, and finished that bag. 

The bag is finished

For whatever reason, I ended up with Margaret's kit, and so I decided to test my knowledge and how I would improve the assembly method. The second one went much faster, but even then, I had goofed on one side of the straps when I turned it inside out. ACK!!!!!!

The second bag done

But the good news is that both of them are complete, pressed, and look pretty spiffy. I hope to make a third one today, and that better go smoothly! 

We went to Creekbank Sewing, my favorite store in this neighborhood. There's always something interesting there. And boy, those Mennonite ladies know how to soft sell. We were NOT templated to buy a Bernina machine while we were there! But the last time, yep -- we almost caved! 

And they have loads of samples, and this is a blanket they made with the serger and Minky. I plan to make lots of these as I have scraps of this fabric, and serging them up will be perfect. 

A serged blanket

So I'm doing great on my walking. I'm keeping up with the daily requirements. When I was here last time, Helen Anne and I would walk together. I have to walk on my own, and it's BORING! I must find my earbuds and listen to an audiobook. I just threw things in bags when I left, and I can't find a thing!

We found a great used bookstore in Orangeville, but they only took CASH. Who carries cash anymore? I bought the cutest little sewing book, which I thought was $8.50 but was .50 cents. I didn't take a picture, but I'll try today. So much and published in 1958!!!!!

Well, another short and sweet day -- I have two zoom calls, and I need to get one more bag and one more T-shirt sewn. I'm NOT going to bed until that is done. 

Thanks for the clarification that it was wild turkey tracks. That's what you get when you take a city girl to the country! No clue what tracks are what! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Fireside Retreat - Day Three

Why does time pass so quickly when you're having fun? We still have one more full day, and then there's no reason to rush home tomorrow, so I should be able to get a lot more done.

I can see the bottom of the laundry basket, but that doesn't mean that I'll get everything finished. And remember that a couple of projects that are "done" while I'm here, are in fact, not done as I didn't have the thread for the applique and so on. But most of the stuff that went into the "done" bag here is pretty much done.

I'm loving being this organized.

A HUGE thank you goes to Nina this morning. I'm trying to get that darn backpack of mine done. I wanted to change the straps on the back. Why??  Well, this is the way the straps are made according to the pattern. They are made from webbing that has been covered with fabric.

The straps on the original backpack

It's not that I use straps a lot, but sometimes, it's just very convenient to have them, and I intend to put my laptop in the new backpack, so I want something way more substantial than webbing for the strap. I also don't like the way the strap gets attached to the backpack. Essentially, it's attached to the back pocket. That doesn't make sense to me.

The straps are attached to the pocket

Even the handle. Can you tell me why the handle is attached to the pocket and not the seam between the back and the gusset? I'll have to rethink where my handles go.

Anyway, there's another bag called the Out and About bag. It's much smaller, but the straps are so substantial and padded, and I thought I would take the straps from that bag and apply them to this bag. For whatever reason, the instructions had me totally lost. There weren't good pictures in the pattern, and there were tons of pieces. A good diagram would have gone a long way. I thought I had it figured out, and then I remembered that Nina had made the Out and About bag. If she could take the time to send me some pictures, that would be awesome.

And she did!!!!

This is the link to her blog (which I must start to read!!!), where she made the same backpack that I'm currently making.

And this is the link where she posted pictures of the Out and About bag, including very detailed shots of the straps.

There is no pocket on the back of this Out and About backpack, so the straps and the handle are attached into the seam at the very top, which makes more sense to me. But the straps are padded and then also have the webbing attached to the padded part, so they are more substantial and probably way more comfortable.

I wonder why the pattern designer doesn't use the padded straps on the bigger backpack???  Oh well - this is where one takes a pattern and makes it their own!!!! 

Again -- thanks Nina -- those pictures are perfect, and now I have enough info to make the necessary changes.

I didn't get started at the sewing machine until almost lunchtime. I went out for a bike ride in the morning—an easy 34 KM. I stopped a couple of times to take pictures. NO - not because there was a hill. Just to take some photos. That's part of what a bike ride is - enjoy the scenery around you and not just ride and ride.

This is my flower photo of the day. I actually took this one while I was out walking. I've no idea what it is, but it was pretty, and I only saw one grouping of them along the entire walk.

My flower photo of the day

Don't you just hate when you open your camera, and there's your face because the camera lens got turned around? I thought - oh well - just take a selfie and move on! So here I am, after about 20 KM. I thought my face would have been a bit redder and more sweaty, but I look pretty chilled out!

A selfie while cycling

I was stopped when I took that picture. But this is why I stopped. This property had a big long stone fence, and this bike was permanently attached to the rocks, which I thought was kind of neat.

A bike attached to the stone fence

I found another route where I still have a hill to climb, but it's much shorter and only 7% incline, not 10% like the other hill. The only problem was that I then took that road all the way to the end, it landed me right on Highway 11, which is a pretty busy highway. II don't mind the traffic, and I was NOT going to turn around and bypass that part. I simply sucked it up and rode on the highway until the next turn off - a couple of KM. It was fine, and all the big trucks were very accommodating and moved over.

I was on lunch duty, so I had to run to the grocery store to get supplies. Then after lunch, I was finally able to get myself organized and back to work.

I wanted to make some progress on that darn backpack. There were still loads of pieces that needed to be sewn on, and I wanted to go home with a bit more work done than I had accomplished so far.

I got the gusset completed! Actually, it's called the zipper insert or something like that. The front and back of the backpack get sewn into this circle. The zipper (on the right) is the top of the backpack.

The zipper insert

There are two side pockets on the backpack. I made mine with the quilted fabric, but I think next time, I'll be using a mesh which will not add a whole lot of bulk.

Pockets on the side of the backpack

OK -- let's forge ahead and try to get more done. This is the front of the backpack. There's a LOT of work in this. The flap has a magnetic snap, which needed to be placed just so or the snap wouldn't close, and you want that flap to lie perfectly flat. A wee bit of jiggling, and it was done to my satisfaction. This was the part that I goofed up previously, but with a little bit of engineering, I got it to work.

The front of the backpack

Inside the flap are some little pockets where you could put a credit card or room key or whatever. If you didn't have those small pockets, whatever you put in there would drop to the bottom of the pocket. A lot of work and it all adds bulk, but I think they are worth it.

Card slots inside the front flap

Then there's another pocket on the inside of the front. That pocket has a zipper and is made with just fabric—no extra support.  I used one of my big zippers (zipper tape), but next time, I'd probably use just a regular zipper and mesh. Mesh was suggested in the pattern for the side pocket and the inside pocket, but I went with the fabric instead.

The inside of the front of the backpack

So those were two major components of the backpack - DONE. That leaves the straps and the back. Now that I have more information from Nina, I think I should be able to do a bit more work before we have to leave tomorrow. I thought I was missing some fabric but then realized that I had already cut fabric to make the original fabric covered webbing straps, and I'll just reuse that to add the webbing to the padded straps. I think I can almost get it completed this weekend. That would be great!!!


Then it was time to move onto the yoga bag. I know -- why all these bags? Quilts are so MUCH easier to make. All these pockets and zippered pockets and topstitching - it's a tremendous amount of work. Don't even think about asking for one unless you're prepared to make it yourself!!!

Both of these bag patterns are from byAnnie.com.  I do love her patterns and the end results are very professional looking - but I'm a bit ticked about things like the straps and the lack of pictures in some cases. And why should I have to pay $5 to watch a video on her website or buy a NEW version of the same pattern because she changed the instructions? Oh well --- let's move on.

Here is one side of the yoga bag with ONE pocket on it.

Side one of the yoga bag

And here's the second side of the yoga bag. This one has two zippered pockets (which we doctored at the last retreat as I didn't feel the zippers were inserted with enough stability) and there's one slip pocket.

The other side of the yoga bag

 The handle is also made and that's what I get to work on this morning.

It's definitely been a retreat filled with lots of bag making. Ronda made her backpack and then tons of zippered pouches and bags. She made a Crafty Tote, Laura made a Crafty Tote as well and several small Everyday Baskets. I'll try to get photos of it all today so you can see what we've been up to.

Claudette is making the Professional Bag. She was hoping to get it done this weekend and we all laughed at her! That's another very fiddly bag with loads of pockets, trim and other details. It's a very time-consuming bag.

She's using webbing for the handles and she dressed it up with some fabric that I LOVE. This is a super creative way to use webbing for a handle and not have it look like webbing.

Dressed up webbing for a handle

Then Katheleen blew us all out of the water. She made each of us a Junque Journal.

A junque journal

 It's a journal that's essentially made out of bits and bobs of stuff. I'm so excited about it. She also customized it with the topics of our group exchange a while back. Every time I look through it, I find something new.

Inside the junque journal

 She spent an enormous amount of time on the journals, and they are GORGEOUS. I'm going to start putting bits of stuff in the journal from our retreats. It's just the best. THANK YOU, Katheleen!!!

OMG -- we just had a chat about journals and I'm so inspired to get home and start a very cool project. It's so amazing to chat with each other and offer up suggestions.

Ronda is our entertainment coordinator. She's been wanting to have a movie night for a while. I brought along a projector and she somehow brought a movie.

I didn't even know what was going on with the setup. And I'm not good at watching movies late at night so I wasn't sure that I would last. This is the set-up for the movie. I had to laugh - there's a big sheet hung up and honestly - it worked like a charm.

Movie night at the retreat

 We had snacks that I ate too much of! And I wasn't going to sleep so that was good. We were watching the movie inside the screened-in porch which has a tin roof. Then the rain started and it started to pour. We had to stop watching the movie.  To be resumed later today!!!!

Rain pouring off the roof

What can I say? Retreats are just the best!!!  Good friends are even better and when you combine the two - well, it's heaven!!! 

I don't think I'll be riding my bike today. It's raining a bit now and it's going to rain most of the day. That's OK - we desperately need the rain and I didn't bring any rain gear. My knees and feet would be happy for a day off.

And I'll get my yoga bag done or almost!

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!!!

Retreat - Day Two

Another day at Fireside Retreat and another hot day outside. Not so hot that we didn't sit out on the deck for quite a bit yesterday afternoon (in the shade of course) and not so hot that we didn't eat lunch and dinner in the screened-in porch. And not so hot that I didn't take a bike ride in the morning and then a walk in the evening. YES - we're totally crazy, but if you're just sitting around on the deck, the heat and humidity are not so bad.

The other saving grace with the heat and humidity is the trees. There are lots of trees surrounding the property, and that's what helps to cool off the air—same thing at home. Trees will help to beat the heat. Become a tree hugger today!!

I don't have a whole lot to show for finishing yesterday, but I did get some work done. I can't even remember what I was working on in the morning. Isn't that awful?

Anyway - I got my bike out first thing when it wasn't too hot and went for a 32 KM ride. It's so beautiful up here and not a whole lot of traffic, and that really makes it pleasant. A wee bit of gravel on one road near the quarry, and it wasn't a lot of fun to ride on the gravel as it's quite loose. After riding 800KM on the Dempster Highway in 2010, gravel isn't really a problem.

There's a large hill right by the house, and if you go down that hill, you have to come back up it. There's no way to get around it. I thought if I went far enough in one direction that perhaps the hill would be less. NOT! I think the hill coming back up was even steeper. But I did get a great view as my reward for struggling up the hill. 

The view from the hill

You can see the lake from the top of this hill. So hard to capture the actual essence of the land with a camera. I guess you have to be there.

OK - I confess, I had to stop on that hill. I'm not used to riding up steep (over 10% grade) hills, and I stopped for a few seconds. I did NOT walk up but just stopped. I could say that I stopped to take this picture (which I did), but that wasn't the entire truth! I'm OK with stopping.

Tiger lily

Here's my flower of the day picture. The poor flower looks a bit beat up - probably from the heat.

Then it was back to the house to have a well-deserved shower and back to work.

Actually, I wanted to finish the secret project that I started at the last retreat.

That Ronda - she finds things, gets an idea that we need to work on it, and well - we had another project. Actually, yesterday was all about Ronda! So when she was shopping online, she came across a panel. She showed me the panel and said we should make this for Katheleen. Hmm - that seemed like a great idea at the time. So she bought the panel and gave it to me. It was my job to make up the panel.

So what was the panel??

Aunt Flossy and Phyllis

A mommy cow and a calf!!!! I know - totally crazy. Katheleen loves cows like I like bikes. And it was her birthday while we were here, so she got two cows for her birthday. I wasn't going to sew those buttons on for eyes, and she happened to have some glue, so I borrowed glue from her to glue on the eyes on HER cows.

I had to sit upstairs in the dining room while I finished the work on the cows since Katheleen was sewing in the main sewing room.

The cow even has an udder that was a total pain to hand stitch on. We won't look too closely at that. And the poor cow needs a good lint rolling. I used a different kind of stuffing, and it was very fine and a good producer of lint!

The cow's udder

Those cows have pretty red ribbons, each with an appropriately sized bell and not a jingle bell either. Oh no - I was given strict instructions - no jingle bells allowed. Fortunately, I have a small stash of bells and found what I needed. So if you remember that picture of the day, I went shopping in my stash for ribbons and bells? It was not for a Christmas project - it was for Aunt Flossie and Phyllis.

I have to say that they are cute, now that they are done!!!  Happy Birthday, Katheleen!!!

The cows

Then I had no choice but to get back to that darn backpack. I don't know why it's such an issue. The backpack itself isn't that huge of a deal. Loads of pieces, but doable. Ronda took the easy route and made her backpack with no inside pockets, no straps. That cut out a whole lot of issues.

We were supposed to be working on them together, but well - my mind just wasn't into making backpacks. So Ronda got hers finished last night.

Ronda's backpack

Ronda's backpack

OH - Now I remember what I did in the morning. I had a few things that needed to be fixed on my backpack. Again, Ronda took the easy route, and everything is black. NO - mine has several colors on it, and I didn't like the color of binding on that outside pocket flap - so I had to take that off and redo it. I hate redoing, and I'm slow at it.

This is what my backpack looks like this morning—still a pile of pieces. I hope to get a wee bit more done on it today, and then I'll either finish it at home or bring it back next time. Now that all the pieces (except for those pesky straps) are done, the rest will go fairly quickly. The problem with the straps is that I'm making the straps from a different bag pattern, and there are many pieces to making them. You'll get to see as I go along. And Nina - if you're reading today - can you show me a picture of the straps on your bag? That's what I'm trying to put on this one.

My backpack

The other thing that I made sure got accomplished yesterday was to get the zippers in. While Shelly made us a zipper fork for attaching the zipper pulls to the zipper tape, we just seem to get the job done faster if we're two people. So at dinner, last night, Ronda and I sat there, and within minutes, the last of my zippers were done! As I pulled my chair up, I felt like we were getting ready to play a game.

Making zippers

 It takes a lot of hands to make those zippers. Good thing, Shelly wasn't here so she couldn't see us. But we did it, and the zipper looks fantastic. I got it sewn into the bag pieces last night. The next step required some thinking before I marked and cut, and I wasn't prepared to take that risk when I was tired. That's on the agenda for today. I won't finish the backpack, but I hope to get the pockets attached to the front and back pieces.

It's hard work to make a zipper

The best news about the zippers? We're getting good at it. I love zipper tape now. So if you have zipper tape, you'll never use - let me know.

I have to say, somewhat sheepishly, that I've finally figured out how to cook oatmeal in the microwave here. Isn't that sad that it's taken me how many years? And the saddest part? It's EXACTLY the same way as in my microwave at home. For some reason, I couldn't adjust the power on this one, and when I tried the same sequence of buttons as at home? Well, it worked!!  Sigh...................

Who cares! I figured it out. I will say that for a while, we couldn't get regular oatmeal, and I had to use the flavored ones. Well, we got regular oatmeal back, and oh my - it's a bit bland compared to the flavored ones and in particular this morning when I don't have a banana to add to it.

When I went for a walk last night - after dinner, so I was anticipating it to be slightly cooler - it was NOT. There was no sun, so everything was in the shade, but the air was thick. There were a lot of clouds that potentially looked like storm clouds, and I was ready to walk in the rain and embrace it. At one point, the winds even picked up and whisked all the sweat off my face. There were maybe five drops of rain, and that was it. The winds died down, and I was sweating again!

I came across this little guy on the side of the road. Actually, he wasn't so small. This is the largest turtle that I've seen in real life, and he was about 8 inches across—a positive giant to me. However, I didn't like the fact that he was on the road. I went to pick him up (away from his mouth), and he jumped, which scared me, and I left him alone. I did find a stick along the way so I could prod him off the road on my way back, but when I got back to where he was, he was gone.

A turtle on the road

And that wraps up another day at Fireside Retreat. We did a wee bit of shopping at the quilt store, and I need to get to the grocery store today.

One of the ladies decided to go down to the waterfront to take a walk along the waterfront yesterday afternoon. She was told the parking was $50!!!! It was less if you were a resident, but for out of towners - it was $50. That's a bit much. This is a tourist town, and they should be welcoming the few people that are here to help support their businesses. I get the social distancing thing, but we can social distance just like the locals. Oh well...............  everyone is handling the situation in their own way.

Got to run. The others will be up soon, and I want to get out on that bike before it gets too hot.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Retreat - Day One

so
Well - yesterday wasn't the most productive day I've had at a retreat, but I'm on vacation - I don't care.

I'm happy to report that my shin splint is feeling much better, so I went for a long walk last night, and it seems to be just fine! That's more important than getting anything done!

However, I did get some work done on the secret project. Ronda helped out a wee bit with that as well. It's cute, and I won't get it entirely finished here, but it'll be close.

We were working on our backpacks. Hmm - let's just say that it's a challenge to work on that bag at the best of times, and yesterday with all the noise, it was even worse. So many pieces and so many instructions - perhaps working on the backpack here wasn't the best choice of projects. We should at least have been working in the same room which we were not. Let's just say that Ronda made a small error, and she was done, although Shelly helped her fix it, so you don't even now the mistake was made.

One of my goals was to learn how to put the zipper pulls onto the zipper tape using the zipper fork! I did post a picture a while back. I just couldn't do it. There was no way that zipper tape was going to slide onto the pull. Of course, Shelly just zipped the tape through the pull.

After the others went away from watching the process, I saw quietly in my corner, and I figured out how I could make it work. Not the same way that Shelly does, but I don't care - it works! Which is good because I have a lot of that zipper tape to use up.

I will also have to rejig one section of the backpack. The hardest thing is the insertion of the magnetic snap. Mine is just slightly too low. But I figured out that if I trim a wee bit off the top part of the pocket, it should be just fine. No one will be the wiser that I had to do that.

I didn't take a lot of pictures yesterday. As a matter of fact, I didn't take any. I just checked my phone as I was going to upload some photos of the walk in the forest from the previous day, and guess what? I found all kinds of pictures on my phone. When I went for my afternoon walk, I think someone took pictures for me. They even did a selfie, so I know who the culprit was!!!

Anyway, those are downloading at the moment. The internet is quite slow compared to what I have at home.

After the harried attempt of backpack making, we have both put that project away. I need a chalk marker, and mine is out of chalk, so it's probably just the best to put the entire project away. I'm going to fix my little booboo, and then this project will go back in the laundry basket for the next retreat.

I had a visitor, so Carol and I sat out on the porch step for a long, long time just catching up. I'm on vacation, I don't need to sew like mad all day, every day.

And we got to go to the local quilt shop!!! Thimbles and Things. This is one of my favorite shops in the whole world! Sue is just the best - we love her and never want her to close her shop! Anyway, I seemed to spend my entire time talking and not buying. I did get two of the three fabrics that I was looking for, and with my gift certificate, I think I paid less than $4.  I want to go back today or tomorrow as I did see some other exciting things. I need "no talk" time to focus on stuff, including shopping, making backpacks, and whatnot.

My brain just functions better in solitude or controlled chaos.

Shoot - the pictures are not being downloaded, and I need to get started sewing!

Wait -- here they are.

So if you're going to take pictures with someone else's phone, you shouldn't take photos of your legs so I can see who you are!!!  These legs belong to the culprits!!!!

The phone snatchers!

I see I got a beautiful picture of Shelly's toolbox. Quite frankly, I'm a little disappointed. This is just a jumble of tools. Usually, her stuff is the neatest and most organized of everyone!!!

Shelly's jumbled toolbox

We have a lovely picture of the pressing station.

The pressing station

AH -- but I did get pictures of what the others were working on. This is Ronda's backpack. As I said, there are MANY, MANY pieces to this backpack.

Ronda's workstation

Laura is working on the Everyday Basket. It's easy to make with a mini-charm pack. I was going to share that pattern with you, but I see it's pulled off the website. I should try and figure out how to put these patterns on my blog since I don't have a website.

Making an Everyday Basket

Kathi is working on her homework for Vintage Christmas. That's the puppy block. The other project is a kit that she bought, and I think she might get that finished before the weekend is up!!!

Kathi's work station

 I will say that it's nice with fewer people as we have a lot more room to lay out our stuff!!!

Dede is working on two projects. She has a TON of half-square triangles to trim and is making great progress on both projects.

Dede's work station

So thank you to the culprits for taking pictures because otherwise, there would be NO pictures of the work in progress for yesterday.


I have to share this photo from my virtual Cross Canada walk. There's a sign that I'm 31 KM from Regina!!!!  I might just make it there by the end of the weekend!!! Not that anyone is competitive at all. I swear that I've never seen so much walking at a retreat before. It's usually only myself that'll go for a long walk, but now???  Oh - long walks are the norm. And it's about time that Laura got back - she went out hours ago!!!

On the road to Regina

On that note, I'm out of here. I have a new project on the agenda for today - another bag, so let's see what I can get done when I'm working on my own stuff by myself.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Let's go for a walk

So it was pouring rain yesterday morning. Even the girls did NOT want to go outside. That's very unusual, but it was wet! However once the rain went away and the sun came out, people came out of their houses in droves! The girls and I went for a long walk and at some point, there were so many people to "dodge" on the streets, that everyone was crossing what is normally a fairly busy street at random intervals to keep our social distancing.

It was great to see so many people out - I just hope that people will realize how nice it is to walk and keep at it once we are through this crisis.

I've been diligently working away at the sewing machine and doing some tidying. I haven't fired up the long arm in a while, but that's OK. There's no rush on anything.


OH -- I'm going to start off the day with a question. In my tidying up, I came across this project. A TON of batik 2 ½" squares cut. They need a background. I found a HUGE hunk of this blue batik in the bag. It's not cut up but is supposed to be the background.

But what about white? I have so much solid white that I'd like to get it used up.

Squares on white

And I have huge pieces of muslin - would that work???

Squares with muslin

The original was done with a light background. I don't know that it matters to me and I like all three options. I do like the white option myself. There are two blocks to the quilt - the center of one block is batik and the next round is white and the final round is batik. The second block is the reverse. So the background plays a huge part in the quilt.

I've also been hanging out in Studio U enjoying the natural light from the windows and getting some handwork done. While I'm doing the handwork, I'm watching the first season (2007) of The Quilt Show (Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims). Somewhere along the line, I bought the first three series on DVD. I never watched them. So I borrowed a DVD player and I need to get them watched. I also have a stack of machine quilting and technique DVDs.

I do NOT understand my NEED (at that time) to own these things but never watch them. Why???  It's just a mystery to me and I spent so much money on this kind of stuff. Anyway - I'm thoroughly enjoying the videos. I don't have a need to watch the other seasons of The Quilt Show, but I'm enjoying the ones I have available to me.

The show is still going and you can check it out here on their website. There are a couple of free videos that you can watch as well. It's a subscription service but they have free stuff on their web site.

One of the hand things I'm working on is to finish the tracing and cutting of those seasonal wall hangings (designed by Patrick Lose). This is October. It's ready for the satin stitching.

October wall hanging

And here are nine of the twelve. They are so darn cute and I love how bright and cheery they are!!!

Nine seasonal wall hangings

I have to get some pet mats finished. There's a stack of them waiting by the serger and I just can't seem to get there in the day. But here's the cutting scrap box and it's overflowing - yet again! I think I have about 4 or maybe five of the bags left. Then I'll have to get busy and make some more. I certainly never run out of things to do!!!!

Scraps to make another pet mat

This pattern came to me in a box of stuff that I inherited I don't want the pattern - does anyone want it for free?? It was to support the Mennonite Relief Sale in 2016. 

Mennonite RElief patter from 2016

I inherited this block (from that quilt) which wasn't done very well, so I took it apart, cut the pieces so they were the same size and once I sew it back together, it'll go in the orphan block box. 

Orphan block - almost done

It's a long time since my sewing machines and sergers were this organized. All the not currently used stuff is stored on one table. There's one more serger and one more embroidery arm missing from the table, but there's also no more room!! Those machines take up loads of space. I'm just glad they are all together.

The parking lot for sewing machines, sergers, and embroidery bits

It was time to get that binding made for Peaceful Year. I had to cut ELEVEN strips. That's how huge this quilt is. I put the binding in a plastic bag to protect it from fraying.

Binding is made

Then this quilt got added to the "to be quilted" pile and it was noted on the list in the red binder as well.

To be quilted quilt

 I spent a lot of time prepping the backpack project for the retreat. Holy - there are a LOT of pieces to cut. Main fabric, quilted fabric, lining and coordinating fabric, bits of foam, stabilizers, hardware. But it's done. In this picture, it wasn't quite finished. Notice how all the bits are labeled? It'll be way easier to make this one than the first one. I did NOT label any of the pieces which caused some angst as I worked on it. It took forever!!!

Prepping the backpack

When that picture was taken, I still had all these pieces to cut. Each square was a label for something.

STill to cut

The project is now in the laundry basket. That was the LAST project that's going in the basket and while the basket is overflowing (well - it's heaped high), it all fit in one spot. All that remains is to pack some tools and basic supplies. That's for tomorrow. Just two more sleeps - I can hardly wait. Remember - this is a virtual retreat!! We might be silly, but we're not that silly that we'd violate the social distancing orders that are out there at the moment.

From the remainder of the quilted fabric, I've managed to cut some smaller pieces that'll work to make some zippered pouches.

Leftover bits to make zippered pouches

I have to confess that I'm not a fan of the homemade masks. What's the point I asked myself? Well, here's a very good video that explains it a bit better. I'm good with anything if there's a good reason. While it can't guarantee 100% that you won't catch the virus, it can help. I wouldn't be surprised if when we are allowed out, that it'll be mandatory for everyone to wear a mask. EVERYONE!!

DH and I had a great discussion last night. I hope the same thing is happening in your house. We are actually sitting down (well we always do) for dinner, but our discussions are varied and well - entertaining! We've decided that we would not be upset to catch this virus. Not that we're going to intentionally endanger ourselves. But we're both healthy and the odds are in our favor that we won't die. That doesn't guarantee it - there is no guarantee to anything. But we're OK if it happens. You also have to realize that we're both high-risk takers and have been for years.

I found two patterns that you can make directly in the embroidery hoop if you're into that. Perhaps later today, I'll give them a whirl. Actually, Ronda found the one at the Kimberbell site and the other came in an e-mail. She made both of them yesterday. NO pictures. Here's the one from Embroidery Library.    And here's the one from Kimberbell.   Just scroll down the page to get the link.

It'll be fun to make one from some of the funky novelty prints I have. And if I never wear it - it'll be a reminder of this current situation. I don't think it'll make much of a dent in the novelty print stash.

I've been working on other stuff as well, but that's it for today. OH -- I should tell you that thanks to TWO of my readers, I was able to find my zipper tape from a Canadian source. The first one didn't have what I was looking for, but the second one did. And after much contemplation over the darn color, I placed my order. I paid the same price as I would have for the US order but at least it's in CDN dollars so I don't have to take the hit on the exchange.

I did have a chuckle as I placed the order. The zipper tape costs $10.79 in the US with $15 shipping. At the CDN site, the zipper tape was $15 and $10 to ship!  Thanks to all of you for keeping me honest. I should have KNOWN to search for a CDN shop to buy from since I'm always saying how important it is.

The big question is - will it get here in time for the retreat? The store (I'm not sure if they have a physical store or just online), is in Ontario so there's hope!!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!