What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

I think I'm in big trouble, and I need medical attention. Not mental health medical attention, but physical. My leg has been bothering me a lot, and it's time I did something about it. I could barely walk yesterday - at least without pain, and that is affecting my good leg, so there is no time to waste. What do I suspect is the issue? Well, where do I start? Issues with the PCL, which is a tendon on the back of the knee, and the sciatic nerves.  

Don't you love how I'm self-diagnosing? I'll go ...

Your comments put a smile on my face! Yes—there are multiple ways to tackle this mess. What boggles my mind is how I didn't realize what was happening. At one point, the second set of shelves didn't exist, and so there were boxes and piles of books on the floor, and when I wanted something, I was happy to move those. When I got tired of moving, I got new shelves built. Seriously? That just makes me shake my head now. But then? It seemed the perfectly normal thing to do. 

THANKFULLY, I saw the light about ...

I'm so glad to hear that I am not alone in getting books. And Sharon mentioned something extremely important yesterday. So many books are no longer relevant because technology has changed, and the information in the books is so outdated that no one wants it. The only thing to do is to put it in the recycling bin. And that is hard. I have a few things around here that should go in the recycling bin, but I'm not there yet, either. 

However, I spent quite a bit of time in Studio B yesterday, and I learned a ...

OH—after reading the comments this morning, I don't think I'm worthy of decluttering the books! Ever since I was little, my mom taught us that books are precious. And YES - they are, but that doesn't mean you need to own all of them. Or if you buy something, you don't need to keep it! ACK!! I'm in big trouble. 

We had two great presentations in the morning, and I can share a little bit of what I've been working on. One of my goals for 2026 is to finish Sylvia's Bridal Sampler ...

The good news is that the jacket is cut out, and I'm ready to sew it together today. Even better news: both presentations are almost finished, and I really only have to add whatever pictures I get sent by 6 PM tonight. After that, I don't add the pictures. 

I laugh LOUDLY when someone sends me pictures while I'm giving the presentation or just before, expecting them to be in the presentation. I used to run around making that happen. I don't do that anymore. 

I have a personal morning routine and often have multiple classes ...

There was no lightning or thunder last night, but I have a Velcro dog with me this morning. And it's NOT Murphy. Miss Lexi heard me get up, and she's attached to my leg! It's only foggy outside, so I'm not sure what the problem is! 

I MUST get some of this crap off my desk today. It looks like a tornado hit, which is typical, but why can't I keep it clear? I'm working on it, and I spend time at the desk each and every day, but getting rid of this paper ...

I had several cat naps yesterday and slept in a bit this morning, so I think I'm all caught up and good to get back to serious business today! 

I don't know about you, but this Artemis 2 space mission is just amazing. I know it's over, but hearing all the back stories about the astronauts and what it took to get them there is incredible. It should also teach us, our children, and their children that if you want something, it doesn't come easily. Those four people are the most humble people I've seen ...

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 ...