Work on the UFOs

It was another glorious day! I went out for a long walk in the afternoon with no hat, and by the time I got home, my jacket was open, my scarf was dangling, and my mitts were in m pocket! I LOVE days like that. But it was cold when I took the girls out in the morning, and my legs were a bit red when I got back!

We had our UFO Clubs in the morning, which is always a hoot. Who did or didn't get their homework done? If they don't, $10 will be donated to the food bank at the end of the year, and I swear that people do NOT want to give up that money. Hey -- it worked for me! 

As you know, I've been working on the 150 Canadian Women quilt, which started in 2017. My blocks have been done for a while, but I needed to get them together. I had recently sewed the rows together but needed to add the sashing between the rows. Well, I decided to go for it! And this is the state of the quilt at this point. 

The current state of my 150 Canadian Women quilt

The top is now in three pieces. The bottom row only has six blocks because I'm going to add the name of the quilt in machine embroidery along the bottom. Then the rest of it is in two halves. That will make adding the label much easier than handling the big quilt. I MUST get that done this week. 

I used my embroidery software to create a machine embroidery font that matched what the designer did in her handouts. 

The font in the handouts

It's hard to tell in the photo, but the one I created for the software is the third one on the left. You have to love all the software tools available to us, and once you know how to use them -- ANYTHING is possible. 

The font is recreated in embroidery software

All 150 names are embroidered on the quilt backing, so I must get that assembled and find something for the binding. OH -- and I need to add two borders. 

I used EQ8 to design the outer border and figure out how wide the inner border needed to be to accommodate the outer border. Yep -- I love software and how I can marry it all together to get the job done.

The borders for my 150 Canadian Women quilt

I should also figure out what to do with the corners. But it's going to look amazing. And I will confess I "stole" the border idea and the machine embroidery idea from someone's quilt I saw online; although I did mine differently, but her quilt inspired me to do my thing. 

And to make things interesting for myself, I'm doing TWO UFOs a month -- one for each of the two groups. I know --- a sucker for punishment, but I'm getting things done. 

So when I was tidying, I discovered this project (among MANY others), and it's not on my list, so I deviated a bit there. 

Another UFO

The pieces were cut (from one fabric), and this is what I ended up with. The quilt is only 4 blocks by 4 blocks. And the texture of it looks fantastic. I now have to find something for the borders. 

The start of my next UFO

And I have a few blocks left over with a LOT of gold color in them. They just didn't go with the blocks above, and I'm tempted to rotate that one block (leftmost in the second row) as it's got a light spot that my eye goes to every time I look at the quit. 

The leftovers

The issue now is that I want to add the embroidered sunflowers, like the original pattern. However, that design is long gone. So I have to create (or buy) something. That is my goal for this month. Oh boy!!!!

I'll share some of the other UFO projects later this week. It's always exciting to see what they are working on, and one must avoid getting FOMO when looking at all the creativity. We must focus on getting things done! Our items, and not adding to those already lengthy lists!

I found a taker for almost everything I put up yesterday (THANK YOU). But the person who got the Barbie panels got a bonus! I knew I had this play mat for fashion dolls (11" -- because we don't want to say Barbie and have to pay royalty for that!). Anyway, I also had FOUR printed panels that look like Barbie's house, including a craft room. Does anyone remember this? I bought it at Jillybean's Pride, and we all know how long ago that store closed! 

Fashion Doll playmats

So that all must be bundled into a Canada Post box and mailed later this week. Another trip to the mall! It was easy to find that mat. Why? Because the box it was in was labeled. 

Labeled project boxes

I had a good idea where the box was, but since I was looking for that other project, I looked in a few other places. I believe the missing project is in a plastic bag, which is not good. I don't have a visual relationship to the location of any project in a plastic bag, so I may or may not find it. Those labels are VISUAL reminders!

But in the meantime, I found this pattern I had lost years ago! I had to borrow the pattern from my Aunt Irene to make these two quilts for my Mom. Wow -- that pattern was "lost" for over 10 years! 

A missing pattern is now found

Now that my items are more or less sorted, I need to go through them thoroughly and make lists of what is where. This will be a pain in the butt, but it would make it much easier to find something. Even the process of doing that would make me remember where things are. There was so much switching around as I found homes for everything that some stuff got "lost." And I can sort them depending on where they get stored. 

I hate to admit it, but there are FIVE areas where projects are stored, and it would be nice to have one place just for UFOs. OH - they are all UFOs, so I need to develop a better structure than that! Something to think about on the next walk. How to sort the UFOs. Mostly done? Barely started? Are they on my Master Lists? It would be good to have all the projects I've highlighted on my annual lists in one spot. The missing project is on that list! Do I have time for that? I should make time!  

And as I was rooting around where that lost pattern was, I found other boxes filled with a background fabric and a pattern. Those can be pulled apart, as I'll likely never make them. Oh boy --- as Elle said, I will be at this sorting and organizing for a long time. But the more I do, the better it gets, so I just need to keep sorting and decluttering. 

Lots of e-mails went out the door yesterday. I still have more distribution lists to create and double-check. And there are two more follow-up e-mails, and then I'm caught up with that. Just in time to have more classes this coming weekend! 

I've got more writing, and I NEED to get the long arm fired up!!!

And we've had several SERIOUS conversations about one car versus two cars. You'll have to wait with bated breath as to what we decide. It's not a done deal yet. 

But right now? I'm on my way to spin class. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Plan B goes in action

Yep -- I have the best friends ever! I love our Virtual Monday Sewing Group! So much fun to get together, and you would think after this long that we would run out of things to talk about. Nope! However, we have ZERO tolerance for anything political, those who used to be royals, and COVID (anything related to policy). I never want to shut someone down on a call, but if I have to, I will! 

Our calls are so much fun and well --- what happens at Monday Sewing stays at Monday sewing. A while back, we started a show and tell; people send me pictures, and I make a presentation. It's so inspiring to see what others are working on, and right now, our focus is on sharing the Advent Calendars! How fun to see what everyone is getting, and they are quite varied. 

I didn't get a ton done, but that's OK. I have zero class commitments until the new year and no quilts that need to be quilted. My goal is to get Studio B back in shape, clearing up some stuff, like those bindings! 

This is what I worked on yesterday. It's a UFO on the 2023 UFO list. Some people will pull out a UFO, and it no longer suits their taste. However, I've yet to have that happen. I still want to make them. Here's what I worked on yesterday. 

Pattern from a magazine

It's from this magazine - Quilting and Embroidery by Quiltmakers. It's old -- the date was 2010. 

Quilting and Embroidery magazine

And now I have an issue -- this embroidery design is no longer available. I've checked for the designer's website -- gone. I've searched and searched and have been unable to find it. The designer was Susa Glenn, and should anyone have this file, I'd love it if you got in touch with me. elainetheriault@gmail.com

The embroidery motif

The fabric was all cut, so all I did was sew the blocks together. It's one of those batik strips that were so popular over 10 years ago, and I had to buy it in every color, or so it seems. This color ranged from the brown to burgundy to orange. My center is the 16 blocks on the top left - the rest I'll do something with -- the backing, perhaps. 

The blocks I sewed together

So it doesn't look like I"ll find that embroidery design, so off to Plan B - why can't I make my own? Yep -- I opened up my software, and I'm fiddling around with creating the vines at the moment. Upon close inspection, this is within my skill level. I'll buy a sunflower design and see if I can find a sunflower leaf and a blossom. I've found lots of sunflowers, but no leaves yet, although I haven't looked too hard. 

I could let it go and find something else, and I'm searching! I know I picked this quilt because of the sunflower embroidery, so that's a lesson to all. If you see something you like, you should buy it! Because it may not be around when you finally get around to finishing the project. And no -- I don't remember buying this embroidery design. I'm not that organized to have done that. 

On the binding front, I finished three quilts. 

Binding number on

Binding number two

Binding number three

There is one more flannel quilt to bind, and the rest are cotton, which is way easier. The binding is much less bulky and goes faster. There are still six or seven quilts that I've sewn the binding to the back and need to be topstitched to the front. Then I'll start all over again. I want that table clear by the end of the year, and there are several of my quilts that need attention. Mostly quilt sleeves, if memory serves me correctly. 

Here's what is left on that table to deal with. It's still a mess! 

Quilts to bind

I delivered one quilt yesterday, but this is the pile of stuff in the living room that needs to go. Lexi's kennel and a large chair are under the pile, but you can see a ton of things that are slated to leave the house, and it thrills me to death to know that! The more that goes now and someone can use it, the better. There's no sense in things languishing at my house if I'm no longer using them. 

Things that need to be picked up or delivered

Then as a treat, I opened this puzzle which I got when my neighbour moved. 

At last - a jigsaw puzzle

Thank goodness, this is only 500 pieces, as some shapes are very weird -- cats, dogs, birds, balloons, etc. And the border is scalloped!

Odd shaped puzzle pieces

Can you spot the dog?

I would usually start a puzzle with the border, but not this time. I'm building it one building at a time! I might take the day off and work on it, or I'll stop from time to time and work on it. When I get stumped, I'll go back to binding! And I have a lot of machine embroidery to do, so I should set up the embroidery machine and let it run in the background. 

The progress on the puzzle

I finished The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny. The book was written in 2012 and is the one that took place in the abbey. Hm -- If you haven't read it, I don't want to say much, but I'm not sure I liked it. Not that I need my characters to be happy all the time, but this is quite different (in location)  from the rest of her books, or is that just my imagination? I know there are ten more books so let's hope it gets back into the flavor of the first books. Myere is too much drama for the main characters, and is that necessary? 

Oh my --- I've been on the hunt for mylar, which has now evolved into a big discussion about whether mylar is the same as foil or cellophane. Can the products be used interchangeably, etc? So I have some experimenting to do! Yes -- I know I can buy it from Kimberbell, but I wanted to find another source. I laughed when I was at the gym and brushing my hair. I looked down at the counter, and there were some fake mini poinsettias, and they were wrapped in mylar, or is that foil? NO -- I did NOT take one. 

Wrapped in mylar or is that foil?

Once I solve that, I'll share it with you. 

I finally ran out of my five bobbins yesterday and had to clean my sewing machine. Yikes--- it looks like I haven't cleaned it in years. The bobbin case itself was pretty clean, but this came from under and around the bobbin case, and I had already thrown some lint away. I've got a new needle in there as well! I'm ready to sew up a storm! 

Lint from the bobbin case

It was a glorious day, so I volunteered to drop off a quilt and I walked there and back. Instead of waiting for the light to cross the main street, I took the pedestrian bridge. There's a geocache at this bridge, and I attempted to locate it in the summer. I thought I might try again yesterday, but I had that darn bright orange jacket on, so I'm very noticeable. I decided to leave it for another day. 

The pedestrian bridge

Do you think this crosswalk is prominent or noticeable enough? It's huge, and I like that. Those drivers turning right on a red light scare me a lot. They always look left when turning right and never pay attention to what or who is on their right. It drives me crazy, and there was a lady who I thought was NOT going to yield to me, but I grabbed her attention, and she yielded. I gave her the evil eye as I walked in front of her car! It was NOT at this intersection. 

A giant cross walk

Look what I got in the mail yesterday. A nice bundle of Northcott fabrics. This was from the Quilts of Valour contest a while back, where myself and several others quilted up a bunch of quilts. I'll be turning this over to Diane, so she can make a quilt out of it! I don't need it! We may have to add something to it. I'll have her evaluate it, and we'll see. 

A nice Fat Quarter bundle

So this is Lexi - a little miffed that she can't sleep on the sofa. But her love is for the quilt, NOT the dog bed. The quilt didn't get put back in the bed last night, so she chose to sleep on the quilt! And as usual, there is a leaf on the floor. I know this would drive people mad, but ,we don't care. If we pick it up, another one or two or more will appear. I pick up the leaves, but not obsessed with it! OH -- that's one of Murphy's bones! 

Why sleep in the dog bed - quilts are better! 

Remember, there's a Virtual Retreat on Christmas Eve. It's for those that are celebrating that day at home by themselves. If you have a family event, you can drop in to say HI, but then we'll boot you out! OH -- they can drop in to say hi and have a wee nip with us. That means we get to drink all day? I'm not a huge drinker, but it could work? I'd never get anything done!

Now I have the fun task of finalizing all the distribution lists for the 2023 classes. ACK!!! I'm going to take that one list at a time because it will be overwhelming task. So bear with me -- I'll let you know when I'm done, and if you don't get an email from me, then you can contact me. But for the moment, just hang tight!!

There is a massive pile of stuff on the floor beside the computer. I don't know how I'll ever get through it all, but I MUST!!

On that note, I'm out of here!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!