What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

It was one of those days! I got some machine embroidery done, and it turned out amazing. I need to get some more done for my upcoming Facebook Live (April 8), but I just couldn't get my head around it. And I'm supposed to be making another jacket for an upcoming wedding, and I can't wrap my head around that one either. I might just buy pink Lulu lemon pants and go with that! I am NOT one to dress up - ever, and especially not when traveling! 

I did get some binding on some quilts, which was ...

I got sidetracked big time yesterday!! I was supposed to be downstairs sewing, but the night before, I started reading a thriller, and well, I needed to know what happened. So while I did get some things done, I finished my book before I went to bed last night! 

And you know what? Every once in a while, we need to do that! The book was called "A Death at the Party" by Amy Stuart. Oh boy --- an interesting concept! Now today, I need to get some work done!

I grabbed a few pieces of paper from the floor beside ...

I love how we all have similar interests!!! And we have no end to the creativity and fun we have while doing those. I got a picture from Lynn, and she used the orange collage fabric in her butterfly quilt! It was probably used near the bottom in that orange bit? But maybe also on the border. 

Another use of the collage fabric

Either way --- it's a fun fabric, but I won't be searching for more. I have my fat quarter of orange, and that's good enough for me. 

As for doing puzzles on the computer -- that ...

I LOVE that others are getting things done as well! And YES—sometimes we don't have the right color thread or the right whatever —but if you look in your stash, you probably have something that will work!!!

Well, we have a problem at our house, and I don't think it's going to be cheap or easy to fix. Remember that ice dam I've mentioned several times? I cannot find the picture I took of the front of our house, but it's considerably smaller than the one I shared with the neighbors the other day ...

Well, I'm determined to make those visual TO DOs happen this year, and one of them is a dosey - cleaning up my digital machine embroidery files. 

Since I only needed to keep an ear open to what was being said in the meeting yesterday, I sat in the back of the room, and I focused on cutting and pasting FILES! All I can say is that over time, I have created a massive mess. I had files scattered across multiple USB drives, external hard drives, online locations, and the internal hard drives of multiple computers. It was a digital ...

Oh my goodness -- I love hearing your stories about decluttering! Yes --- it was great to take notes when you are learning, or find tips in magazines or patterns you wanted to make, but at some point, you get past the point of needing/wanting that stuff. When we accumulate so much of it, and it gets tucked away, it gets forgotten. 

KUDOS to any and all of you who are whittling away at that crap along with me. I just don't buy it when people say, "OH, my kids will take care of cleaning my mess." Why? Why would ...

Oh my -- the day was filled with stories. I wasn't as productive as I would have liked, as there was a computer glitch along the way, but the issue got resolved; however, it took a LONG time. BUT I learned something new, and what used to be a two-part process is now a one-part process, so that is good! 

I futzed around with my Canva file until it was the way I wanted, then sent it to the printer, and it was ready to be picked up! I can't say enough about the folks at Sherwood Copy & Print ...

Sunshine! How I wish for the sun! Thankfully, I don't suffer from SAD, but it sure would be nice to see the sun once in a while! It tries really hard on most mornings, but quickly gets buried in the clouds. The winter has been weird so far. We've had lots of snow, but not all at once. Lots of small snowfalls, which leads to the question - should I shovel or wait? 

That, plus the lack of sunshine, means that everything is snow-covered, and not bare like our sidewalks usually are! We had a discussion last night at ...

OH!!!! I'm an idiot! OK -- maybe not an idiot, but I completely forgot there's a Virtual Retreat TODAY!!! I usually post about it and post the links several days in advance, and it slipped my mind. I didn't put it in the calendar, and I say I'm on top of things!!! Watch for the links at the end.

 And I'm behind this morning—it was a weird night. I woke up in the middle of the night - completely wide awake. I lay there for a while thinking perhaps I'm not really ready to get ...

The unspeakable happened! I'm happily getting rid of more paper in the office. 

I had some paperwork that needed to be done, so I sat at the computer, finished it, and got it sent. Someone wants a quilt pattern I designed in 2013, and I'm recreating it for this group. That was the one I couldn't find. I still have a bit more work to do on it, but the finished product looks so much better than my hand-scrawled instructions, never mind how much more professional the diagrams look! My knowledge base with computers, despite my issues ...

Oh crap --- it's likely that I messed up the links again. I'll repost the link for that video on how learning a second language can save your life. Please tell me that it is only some links, not all!!!

Here is the missing link from yesterday. 

I cannot tell you how happy I am these days! Getting those niggling little UFOs done does way more for my happiness level than money or happy pills ever could. And I've taught (forced) myself to be persistent and focused. And get the darn thing DONE - don't just move it ...

OH, I just realized that the title of yesterday's blog AND the first picture you see of a volcano erupting were perhaps a bit dramatic!! BUT getting that much work done in the office was dramatic! 

I listened to this audiobook MANY years ago when I started my decluttering journey. I just checked my blog and the date was March 10, 2014!!!!! Well, I listened to it somewhere, and I suspect it was before I started because the first room I tackled was the bedroom, and that's the first room mentioned in the book. For the record, and ...

To stop you from guessing, the picture on the jigsaw puzzle is Mount Etna, and it erupted on December 27th in fine form! Fascinating to see the photos of the red-hot lava against the snow. 

Mount Etna erupted on December 27th

OK -- I warned you, and I hope you are sitting down because what I'm about to say is shocking! I even shocked myself. 

So Miss Murphy and I were on our walk, and we were chatting. And then she said to me, "Mom - Enough is enough. I'm tired of sleeping in that office with all your junk ...

And so the decluttering continues! I have NOT found that file folder that initiated this current cleaning frenzy, and I NEED that folder. I've promised the contents to someone. So I have a couple more spots to look - actually, at this point, just one, and if it's not there, I will have to recreate the files. I have some of it in hard copy, but it needs to be digital. Sigh...........

Well, that's OK, but the darn thing is I remember sorting and cleaning that folder. I did NOT throw it out. Where the heck is the ...

Thanks for the wishes and the vote of confidence on my 2026 word - GOALS. Someone mentioned they had goals for 2025, and while they met some, they didn't hit the mark on all of them. And you know what they said? They FORGAVE themselves for not making the mark! That is a critical statement because if you set a goal and don't achieve it, and then you beat yourself up, what is the point of that? 

If you have to change a goal, there's likely a good reason. Was the goal too aggressive? Did family or health ...

I had a super productive day yesterday. I really wanted to start and finish one project that needed to be done. I almost completed it, but it's still likely to take another two hours. It involved some quilting, and at 7:30 pm, I was exhausted, so I went to read for a bit. I'll be able to finish this morning. 

As a result of going to bed so early, I was up VERY early and decided that while also doing some writing, I'd send out some emails. After I sent them, I forgot that people could ...

OH - I love the comments, and I need to ask a few more questions, so I'll be answering them this morning. I didn't get the reference to the matches in the bathroom? Am I missing something? 

I got an email in the afternoon about one of my posts that said to call them because I might be going down the wrong path. Yikes!!! It concerned the vinyl we cut for the Terrifying Tower, which we're going to machine embroider in a couple of weeks. 

Here is the picture and the wording that scared several of my savvy ...

Yikes—after the clothes comments, I'd better get myself organized and get rid of some of these excess clothes! I use the dryer all the time, but I don't wear once and wash. It's a T-shirt, I'm in the house and practically have a desk job, I'm not a stinky person, and YES - most of my clothes are old. I wear them until they wear out, which takes a long, long time. The poor sweatshirt I'm wearing this morning is probably 20 years old. It's faded, and I am hoping to replace it ...

OH MY --- I LOVE the Christmas gift exchange idea that was posted as a comment on the blog yesterday. Give a recycled item in good condition to someone! Of course, you don't spring this on people - you ask first if they are OK with the concept. It must have been a hit because they are doing it again this year. An elegant way to recycle and gift at the same time. I love it! Imagine the conversations you could have about the items you are giving? That would be the best part! 

And I have several suggestions for fixing ...

Hmmm - about the manual shifting in the car. I'm not so sure it's "manual" shifting because you have to change from reverse to drive or park. I am not accustomed to driving a North American car, and I find it awkward. I'm always trying to remember how to get into reverse and then into drive. With most automatic vehicles, you simply turn a knob or shift the gear stick to shift into each gear. With this one, getting into each gear requires a DIFFERENT move of the stick. I'm definitely not a fan. But no worries ...