What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Don't yell at me when I say there is so much to do and so little time. Because part of that statement is very accurate, but if I were really in a time crunch, I wouldn't have taken most of the day off! There are so many little things to finish, and I seem to be taking my sweet time to get to them. Personally, I'm OK with that, and there are only a few appointments this week, but I do have a guild presentation with the Grand Quilt Guild (Fergus) on Wednesday evening (the topic is ...

Ready to learn how to get half square triangles out of jelly roll strips? It isn’t hard, but you will have to be very careful doing these, as the cuts will be on the bias rather than straight of grain. Don’t be afraid, let’s take it one step at a time.

Begin by carefully pressing your 6 background (BG) strips and 6 jelly roll (JR) medium/dark strips with a generous amount of spray starch or Best Press. This will help keep the bias from stretching as you work with the half-square triangles.

Sew a JR strip ...

 A week is a long time to be at a retreat, but it is heaven. I'm not thinking about the girls. They are in good hands. I miss them, but sometimes, it's great to get a break from their antics -- just like your kids! We go home tomorrow, and I'm sure I'll get the cold shoulder from the Princess and five minutes of love from Murphy, and then she'll be off to get into trouble! Dogs don't appreciate the passage of time; all is forgiven as soon as you are back! 

We have been ...

I have yet to go outside, but could we be snowed in? We had a lot of snow yesterday, but the retreat house is also on a hill, and the snow was blowing, so hopefully, it blew away from the yard and not into it! 

We'll be out for our walk once it gets light, and then we'll see. This region is on the ball for road maintenance, so that won't be a problem, but we have to get from the house to the road. And if we don't get out for our walk until later ...

I'm so glad to see people ARE using those special dishes! And eating in the dining room! That won't happen at our house, but that brings back memories. Remember those houses that had the "front room," and the furniture was wrapped in plastic. Oh my --- someone was afraid of a little stain or two. Thankfully, our mindsets have changed, and crack out that good china!!!!! 

So we're happily ensconced at Retreat at the Farm in Shelburne. What a nice, cozy house. I can hear the wind whipping outside this morning, and I'm toasty warm in the ...

OH  --- be careful what you wish for! There was a reason that basket of half-square triangles was languishing on my ironing board! 

I see that some people do not have an issue with leaving things on the ironing board as they put the ironing surface away at the end of the day. It's not that they are crazy --- it's a case of sewing in a living area and not wanting the ironing board in the way. I know I will likely have that arrangement at some point, but for the moment, there's no need to take mine ...

Well, I'm a big liar! When I wrote that my space is in good shape, if I had been Pinocchio, I couldn't have sat in front of the computer as my nose would have been too long! 

OK -- so it's not that bad, but there are definitely things that need to be dealt with, and so I  will be right there with you as we clean up our spaces. This time next year --- I'll have EVERYTHING under control! I can hardly wait! 

I am being truthful when I say that NO MAJOR issues need to be ...

 I'm so sorry to be an enabler, but it's not often that a pattern comes along that I NEED to make, so I'll see how we can work those Elizabeth Hartman patterns into the schedule. Remember -- if you are pressed for time, make the SMALL version of the quilt. It's all about choices and making priorities. And if you can't do the sew along with me, there'll be another super cute pattern next year!

I'm so excited -- I was showing the short Amazon tour video to the retreat group, and then I decided ...

What can I say about Queen Elizabeth? It is a terrible sadness that she has passed and to think she swore in the new Prime Minister just two days ago! I never met the Queen, never attended an event where she was present. But I remember her picture hanging on the wall of my one-room schoolhouse so many years ago, and she became a presence to an impressionable 6-year-old. 

Whether you agree with the monarchy or not, you must give her credit for her grace, determination, and dedication. And a certain someone recently married into that family makes me angry ...

Last fall we launched our Triangle Masterclass, a nine part video series that covers everything you need to know to improve your triangle piecing.

We have dedicated videos for sewing half square triangles, quarter square triangles or hourglass units, double pinwheels, four-at-a-time no waste flying geese.

Plus there are videos on how I sew the quilt block together so I don’t cut off any points, and my two-pinning method to get perfect points every time. Wrap it up by watching how I used rulerwork on my longarm to quilt triangles into the design as well.

The course is free ...

Staying at Spring House Retreat involved a lot of FIRSTs. 

We had the cat wrangling incident -- more on that tomorrow. We were ten people, which is the largest group that we've ever had and I wasn't sure if I would like it. Too many conversations at the same time, too crowded, too noisy, etc. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised and YES there were times when there were too many conversations going on at the same time but I was in the corner and I just tuned them out! Actually, it's not the number ...

How much time does one want to spend managing their stuff, or if I tell you how I really feel -- the crap accumulated over the years. For those of you that never let it collect -- I applaud you, but WHERE were you years ago when I needed someone to tell me NOT to buy so much. See how easy it is to pass the blame on to someone else! Sorry for that! NO -- I take full responsibility for the mess I created and take 100% responsibility for cleaning it up! 

It doesn't matter what's happened in the past ...

 HA -- I love the comments - I LOVE them all referring to the Jen Kingwell quilts. Yes, indeed - I LOVE them all, and very hard to pick the one I like the least. They are all so worthy in their own right, and I'm just so darn proud of everyone who finished, and there will be more finished quilts. Those will get posted and added to the appropriate slot to keep them all in the same place. You'll know when that happens. 

It's that bittersweet day at any retreat, as we're going home today. But as usual ...

I took a circuitous way home from the Retreat. I had something to drop off, and I wanted to visit the art show where my friend, Helen Anne, had a couple of pieces hanging. Thank goodness for the GPS, or I wouldn't have made it! All those country back roads, some of which were pretty basic with gravel and barely a road as far as I was concerned, but it was the back way to get to The Hobby Horse. There were many trees down in that area, and that road was definitely closed after this storm. Fortunately, everything ...

The best part of going away is coming home! My plan was to be packed up and on the road by 2:00 PM. I was the last one to leave, and it was 1:45 -- perfect. 

OH -- before I forget, I checked the app on my phone, and my Sonos speaker works with my Alexa app. I know -- it belongs to that online conglomerate. More on that another day, but it works! I just need to connect it. So many little things, and it's hard to keep on top of it all. 

It took me forever to get ...

I'm so excited this morning; I'm practically bursting at the seams! Why? Well, there is good in this world! 

I almost hate to tell you this because it means that I have to be on the ball to ensure I can get a booking! What does that mean? We are staying at Retreat at the Farm, a retreat house near Shelbourne, Ontario. I think this is my fourth time or maybe my fifth. I write the numbers in the guest book, so I can remember. All the retreats seem to blend into each other! 

If you haven't ...

I almost made it! Two presentations representing three quilts are prepped and ready to go. The third presentation for today, which I'll do twice, is a bit rough at the moment! The pictures are taken, and most of them are loaded in the presentation. It's trying to make sense of it all now. I think the girls will get a shorter walk this morning, so I can deal with that. 

Then I'll work on the stuff for tomorrow, tonight. Yep -- I know why this weekend ended up being so crazy. I was supposed to be away next ...

Yep -- someone commented about the masks. They are everywhere! Personally, I've had two cloth masks and used them throughout the pandemic. Granted, I don't need to wear one often, but still, if you used a disposable one -- dispose of it responsibly. 

As I walked yesterday, I thought I needed to get one of those garbage picker-upper things, and I can pick up a bag of garbage a day along my walk. Someone who lives in the same building as my parents does that in their neighborhood, and it keeps their community clean, and it gives him something to ...

Wow --- so much happening -- each weekend brings its own exciting events! Let's see -- we had a hands-on free motion quilting class, a machine embroidery show and tell session, and a lesson on one of Jen Kingwell's quilts. I hope to share the homework with you this week. But not this morning -- I'm off to spin class in a bit. Not that I want to leave the house -- it's freezing outside! 

I love Zoom because some of the people were vacationing in Florida, one person was in the car traveling south, and the rest of us were ...