In the NICK of time

 

Thank god I do NOT panic, and I don't get stressed. For whatever reason, I'm having trouble these days connecting to Zoom in my little film studio, so I moved to a different location, which seems to work just fine. I'll try again later because I like that corner. I do loads of thinking (and prepping) on my walks about my presentations, but I always seem to be running around at the last minute. 

So this happened yesterday. I'm running around, making samples, taking videos, uploading photos. I have a 5:30 deadline. Phew - everything gets done. Then I open up the call and wait. OK - something is wrong as I know when I open a call there are always people waiting! Hmm - did I hand out the incorrect Zoom link? That's a huge fear! Then I rechecked my calendar. Oh boy - I'm ONE hour EARLY. Go figure!!!

I got a chuckle out of that. And way better to be one hour early than one hour late. Two more presentations last night. Now I have my guild talk this morning. And I'm happy to say that the presentation is almost together. I thought I'd add some dates as to when the projects were completed (or not). Oh boy -- that's an eye-opener!

But going through that slide presentation is so much fun. Wow -- a LOT of work went into making all those quilts and projects and loads of laughs for sure. And every quilt has a story. Yep - I've decided all this must go in a book. There will come a day when I won't have those quilts, but if they are in a book - then I can flip through the book and remember the good times I had with people. 

Here's some good advice about documenting your quilts. I got this information from Helen Anne. When you take pictures, write down the size of the quilt! Better yet - WRITE the size on the label. That way, no one will ever have to measure that quilt again! Anyway -- there's a lot more information that I want to include in the book. Now that I have everything documented in one place, I can slowly work my way through all the extra stuff I want to include. Then I can cull if the thing becomes too unwieldy. 

I did NOT find the blocks for that group project, but I did find the EQ7 file. So that got included. 

Next week, I have TWO scrap quilt presentations to make to guilds, and so the fun begins all over again, this time with scrap quilts. Oh my god -- that is going to be a fun topic as well. I LOVE scrap quilts. 

And I had an assistant for all the pictures. Yes - the MOMENT a quilt goes on the floor (it was way faster than hanging them), Murphy was over to inspect! 

The official quilt tester at our house

Oh, and now, let's put my butt on the quilt. Yep -- she loves quilts. 

Oh, Mom - this quilt is just right and big enough for me!

Thank goodness for that third lens on the camera, as I was able to get decent pictures of all the quilts while they were flat on the floor. Only the huge one above is a bit skewed. I'm happy with the results, and the pictures are way better than if someone is hanging onto the quilts in a guild presentation. Everyone gets a front-row seat. I'm so excited to share my Group Quilts with the Kanata Quilt Guild this morning. 

Then I have a meeting and one more presentation tonight. It's a jam-packed day!!! But I still get out EVERY DAY for a walk. I don't care how busy I am. I get out and walk. It clears my head, allows me to plan the task ahead or think up the samples or reflect on samples already made, so it's not a total waste of time. I've walked almost 500 KM since Jan 1. That's a LOT of thinking. 

So what did I do in my "spare time" last night while I waited for the presentation's start time? I trimmed M's quilt. Oh - how I love trimming a quilt with Cuddle on the back. That's a huge mess, and it's still there. I didn't have time to clean it up—a job for later today. 

The mess after trimming a quilt with Cuddle on the back

I went through the scraps of binding and pulled out some blue pieces. There should be enough here for the binding on the scrappy string quilt. That's a job for the weekend, perhaps. I've got classes coming up, and I need to get myself organized. Actually, I'm in good shape, so I'm not worried about anything. It's just that there is no time to mess around. That's such a lie - I have loads of time for myself each day - I walk a couple of hours every day, read, blog - loads of personal time, and I don't skimp on my sleep. 

Scrappy binding bits for the scrap quilt

And I don't know what happened, but I had taken a LOT of pictures and sent them to myself. I'm waiting and waiting and no e-mails. So I investigated, and for some reason, they got saved as drafts and never sent. Can you tell me why that happened? It's never happened before. The important thing is that I figured it out and got the pictures. 

Obviously, I did not get any cleaning done. Oh, that's a lie. I went through another handful of those receipts, and I have another stack dugout for this morning. I peeked, and towards the bottom of the box are old VISA statements. Well, we all know that's going. But here's a couple of things I found. 

UNOPENED envelopes with this marked on the outside. I think this was from CAA, and they just do auto-renew, so why do I need to open that envelope??? Oh god - I'm so trusting! Should I write that on the blog? I'm not as trusting as you might think I am. 

Marked on the front of an UNOPENED envelope

An order from UPS. Yep - this was a package that M sent to me when I was cycling across Canada. That was in 2013. 

Sending a care package to Mom

This mail stop was in Mont St. Hilaire in Quebec. Oh - super memories of that trip!!

Our mail stop in Quebec from 2013

And a receipt from Ruti's Needlebed. Sadly, that store is closed, but I had a "few" of these receipts until I got smart and said - I don't need the receipt. Actually, as much as I miss that store, it was a crutch. I spent a LOT of time at the store buying stuff that I probably had at home and couldn't find! And if I was "lonely," I went there just because. I'm so thankful I'm over both of those excuses. If the store were open, that would have been an excellent destination for a walk. 

That box is going to be empty before I know it. So why did I put this task off for so long? It's going to take a long time, but I'm doing it! And so many memories. I won't go so far as to say that I'm having fun, but it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. The biggest issue is the mindset - knowing what to do with something and then doing it. Oh - don't worry, there will be a lot of stuff in here that I'm going to struggle with (I think), but the more that I pitch and purge, the easier it is to let go of things. 

How is this for a new desk set up??? This is a gaming desk from IKEA. It's not that expensive - less than $300. And if you look close, you'll see someone curled up in a dog bed at the base of the stand. Who is that masked doggie?? Why it's BEAR!!!  This is M's boyfriend's setup. I like it!!! But it might be too high for my space. I've got some ideas - I just need a wee bit of room to move some stuff. 

A gaming station

On that note, I'm out of here. I've got a few more quilt labels to photograph and edit and insert into the presentation. And we need to get outside for our morning walk. I swear, I've worn those flannel lined pants EVERY day this month and barely wore them in January. 

Now, what should you tidy up today? How is the mindset thing coming along? That's the hardest. We can hear our mother's voice in the back of our head - don't throw that away, it might be useful for something. Oh - we have room (or not) to store that, don't throw it away. Trust me, I've had huge guilt trips about stuff - like the piano! More on that another day. OH -- you know what - that's a great thing. Think about the ONE piece of furniture in your house that you don't want, you have no use for, but yet you are keeping it because your parents gave it to you or you think your kids might want it. 

Do some research on that piece. It's likely NOT worth any money unless it's an authentic antique (greater than 100 years old). Can you perhaps donate it? Can you give it away? Or god forbid, you put it on the curb on big garbage day. But seriously - why do we keep these monkeys on our backs?? I know - it's tough. I struggled for years before I sold the piano, but it's gone, and I don't regret it one iota. 

And don't forget to send pictures and if you need some handholding during the process, let me know. As a group, we can support you and hold your hand as you see that piece of furniture leave your house. Do NOT feel guilty. 

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

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!