What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

It's so good to be home! Yes -- I'm now home for at least three weeks -- can you believe that? I can barely believe it, and the even better news is that my commitments are much fewer this month, so it'll positively feel like a vacation! I'm going to be totally lost! 

OK -- that's a lie since I have some long-arm quilting to do, blog posts to write, articles to put together, plans for the fall quilts, and a lot more paperwork, but I won't have so much happening on the weekends. Yeah!

We all ...

AH -- you make me blush! But thanks for the comments about the scrap quilts, but I have to say that I'm HOOKED! That influencer - Linda!

Now here's the thing - I was NOT interested in precutting my scraps - not in the least. I had tried it in the past by cutting some fat quarters into strips and I was totally uninspired and I'll be handing that to Diane soon. But this? I now have a couple of patterns in mind and we had a chat last night and I now have a couple more. 

So are you anxious ...

What a relaxing time we're having! It's so fun to be in a small group, so there is NO drama, no crisis, no over-talking, and well --- this is my favorite retreat! No need to name you -- you know who you are! We don't see each other often, so it's nice to catch up with family and mutual friends. 

Recently, we made desserts at the retreat optional, and so far, we've not had any dessert. Guess what? I do not miss it, and I feel better. So optional dessert is going to become the norm! 

I ...

WOW --- it feels great to be away in a very casual setting and have great friends to chat with! Yep -- I think I'm in quilting heaven, and that's OK. 

It took a while to get here as I had to wait for my 1:30 appointment for the ultrasound. And can you believe I was almost at the clinic when I realized I had left my wallet at home? And my health card was in my wallet, and so was my credit card to pay for parking. DUH!! I didn't have time to go back, so I ...

The weekend is over, and four lazy days of sewing are on the agenda for this week - I can hardly wait to get started! But it'll be a late start as I have my knee ultrasound at 1:30 PM. And that's OK -- it's a perfect excuse to be late for a sewing retreat! How long will it take to see someone to discuss the results? 

After the two Zooms yesterday, it was time for the Virtual Retreat, and I hadn't sewn for so long that I honestly didn't know where to start. 

But I ...

There's been a considerable debate going on since the pandemic. Do we want to return to work in an office, or are we happy to stay home? I get a chuckle out of all the people who were upset because they couldn't go into the office during the pandemic. They were going crazy looking at the same walls all day and craved the day they could go in. Now that many of them have the freedom to go in, they don't want to, citing additional costs and time. 

It's funny how people change their minds when ...

I'm home! I thought I might have to sleep at the airport last night, but I managed to get home. It was very late, and I'll nap later today. Wait for that story!

The day started with the daily geocache; although I knew there was an Adventure Lab at the airport, what if I forget? Someone has posted a geocache at many of the hotels in the area, and they are quick and easy to find. 

My geocache of the day

So all was good in that area, and I had to take the car to get breakfast ...

While this hotel is functional and clean, I'm not sure I'd stay here again. Why? It's in the most bizarre location. It's situated in a highway loop, so getting to the hotel is a pain in the butt unless you're coming from the south or the west. But come from the north or the east, you must make U-turns. And it's the opposite when you want to leave. But it doesn't matter - I've survived, and after a few days, I'm getting to know my way around. 

The red dot is where ...

 As I was packing to leave, I had a pair of casual shorts in my hands. Should I take them? Should I leave them? I threw them in since they were small. OMG -- they were a godsend yesterday. I went for a short walk after breakfast to do a couple of geocaches and I had my jeans on. Let's say that I got back to the hotel and put those shorts on and thank goodness I did. 

It is HOT here! I knew it was hot, but once I arrived at the store to get ready, I didn't ...

 Well, there isn't much to show for what got done yesterday, but I accomplished MUCH!

The first thing on the agenda was the two UFO Zoom classes. The UFO Club will undoubtedly continue in 2024, which is partially why some of the other stuff must go. I'm continually struggling to get anything done, and it's not that I don't want to contribute to the donation fund; it's that I want to get working on these UFOs. So there will be less NEW and more focus on completing the UFOs!

I'm thrilled about that! 

Once ...

 I'm happy to report that I'm back on track! Someone mentioned to me that I appear to be guilty of "wasting" time. I wouldn't say that's true -- I'm as happy as anyone to laze around the house, but it bugs me if I "waste" time because of lack of sleep or having to wait or whatever else that is beyond my control! If I'm in control of taking the day off, I'm good with that.

But all that to say that I had a great day yesterday! I had a visitor in the ...

Where did yesterday go? After Monday's sewing, I went for a walk, then got stuck on the computer with the support team from Microsoft. 

Can you tell me why this happened? My e-mail got stuck on my desktop but worked fine on my laptop and phone. I got an error message to delete some files because I exceeded my limit. OK -- I get that, but then I couldn't delete anything. So why is that? And why was it working fine on the other devices? 

I never got an answer to any of those questions, but they did something ...

Seriously??? It's way past my bedtime, and I'm wide awake? Why? Because my hotel room faces a bustling night spot in the city, and the music is blaring, and I don't do well with music at night. I remember one campground we stayed at when we were cycling; someone was playing music, and even with earplugs, I couldn't sleep. The next day wasn't fun! 

Party Central in Halifax

So what is one going to do? I could lay in bed and hope to fall asleep, but I'm restless as all get out, so that ...

So glad to know I'm not the only one who gets off their game with the food thing and travel. I've just been "careless" about the sugar intake, and I'm not happy. But I made a start last night -- no cool beverage or dessert. I didn't miss it, and I felt much better. 

I'm happy to report that Day Two was almost as busy as Day One, which is great for a show, and let's hope that today (the last day) is as busy again. People are excited to get out to a quilt ...

Quilt Canada 2023 --- what a blast we are having! Day One was a zoo as everyone rushed to see the quilts, visit the vendors, and catch up with each other. We barely had time to think all day, which is great - the day passed so quickly. 

And so many people stopped by the booth, some of whom I hadn't seen in person in years, some I had only met on Zoom, and others I see on Facebook. It was like an old-home week! There were too many people to name, and I'd surely miss one or two. So ...

Quilt shows are always super exciting and yet, there's an unpleasant task to be done before that can happen and it's called SETUP day. I swear in all the shows I've set up (and I don't mean guild shows), but the big ones in the larger locations -- I have had the unfortunate experience to always be in a booth that requires HUGE amounts of setup. 

When I worked for Alma - her booth was filled with notions that required much care to get in the correct spot. Northcott had a huge booth structure (X three) that had ...

Now that Mom and Dad have made THE decision about the farm, it's time for them to figure out the next steps. And Dad just dives right in, so hopefully, the next conversations can happen with potential buyers, and we will be rid of the entire problem soon enough. I don't want things to drag out --- just say we no longer have access to that house, and we can all move on!! 

That day will be sad, but time marches on, there will be many memories, and we are not the first to sell a property. Let's ...

 Another day -- another city! 

I did a reasonable amount of walking in the morning and only a third of what I did the day before. I'm good with that. But I went downtown Saskatoon and did some exploring; thanks again to the Adventure Labs and Geocaching. I know there are other ways to find these pieces of art, but having a destination really motivates me to get out and find them, and it makes me walk. 

There are all kinds of artwork to be found in the city and probably ANY city, and it's really fun to get ...

Another day, another city, and a new hotel! I had big intentions yesterday as I was going to zip off to Moose Jaw and then hit Saskatoon, and well, I didn't leave Regina until almost 5:30 PM. What happened? 

This happened.......................

That's a lot of steps!

That is 10:52 PM, by the way! And this is why I do NOT watch TV. When I get into something, I become obsessed, and I put on a lot of steps walking the city to the tune of 31.81 KM. I know!!! And I wasn't even tired ...

 I'm up EARLY  -- the blog post should be on time!

I had two more successful events yesterday, and those attendees went home knowing a lot more about what they could do with their PFAFF sewing machines and loads of inspiration for making quilts. I came away with a list of samples I want to make to improve the presentation! 

Thank you to Patrick and Peachtree Quilt Shop for a fantastic couple of days! Loads of fun, and I got to meet some new people. 

So where am I next? The next stop (work-wise) is Quilt Canada in Halifax. So ...