What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Well, I'm here! And I'm feeling pretty good this morning, which is a miracle! It's been a couple of tough days, and I finally have some time to share the story. First—everyone is OK—we're just getting older. 

You'll remember me telling you that our vet retired last year, and we were very sad because they had served us well through various dog family members - Badger, Sparky, and Sammy. And then, of course, our current two crazy girls - Murphy and Lexi. I made eight dog-themed quilts for the staff as I was so happy ...

I am definitely a creature of habit, and if I go outside that world, I'm in big trouble!!!

I had pretty much packed my suitcase the evening before, so not much to do in the morning except have breakfast. But I thought I would give the wardrobe one last look. I checked the drawers - nothing. But when I opened up the hanging clothes area, there were THREE of my things in there. Good grief!!!!! 

I never, never, never unpack my suitcase, and so all my clothes are hanging around or in the suitcase in the room. That would not ...

I sat at the computer yesterday morning and did some catch-up with email, and I have part of the class information written up! Saturday is still my deadline to publish that information, and I should be OK with that. So much other stuff sitting around the computer that needs to be dealt with -- how does it accumulate so fast? OR am I pulling things out when I see some open space? 

And to answer the question - will Busy Beach be a sew along? It's on my plan (the price is right)  -- just not this year. 

Speaking of sew-alongs, let ...

I didn't take a picture of the progress on my puzzle, but I'm working through the green forest! Are these pieces reflections, or are they the trees? Hmmm..... I started creating a section that wasn't attached to anything, since it was easier to work on. Then I discovered that my section was upside down and fit beautifully into the top part. 

I work on it for about an hour each evening. After that, it becomes too challenging for my brain, which is interesting, since there are other puzzles I could work on for hours. This one is ...

OK -- so what happened? It's freezing this morning! Of course, the temperature is only 17 and feels like 17, and with the windows open, it's cool in the house. It's crazy weather! 

When I was in the Wal-Mart the other day, I spotted this in the yarn section: Faux Leather. What the heck would you do with that? Yes -- it's long and stringy, just like yarn. WAIT a minute—now that I see this again, I want some! 

A skein of Faux Leather

Progress was made, but not nearly as much as I wanted. I've just come to the conclusion that what I get done is what I get done! I am not going to sweat it, and there is a lot of "new" stuff that I'm working on. By "new," I mean techniques I haven't done in a long time, a new design I'm stitching out, and so on. 

But first, let's discuss this quote that Jackie posted in the comments. 

Drop the weight on your shoulders and put it under your feet to rise to the ...

Sharon -- you are so right!!! So many of the ideas that we see today as "new" and "modern" are not new or modern at all. So many techniques from years ago have been resurrected, and countless other things. The only thing I would say that is NOT being recreated is the color palette! The harvest gold and avocado green? Although I like those colors. Even the small muted prints of the 70s are back in vogue. WAIT - I stand corrected - even the color palettes are back, maybe not exact, but close! 

Well, I am a happy camper. I was definitely ...

I typically stay at Holiday Inns, and when I arrive in the room, it is COLD, so I have to turn the thermostat up a couple of degrees to turn the fan/air conditioning off. I have no issues putting on a sweater, but I am not a fan of cold rooms when I'm traveling, since I don't typically have my warm clothes with me. 

Something very unusual happened on my reading lists. I typically have an e-book and an audiobook on the go at the same time. BOTH books I'm currently reading are related to a ...

I'm home, and the girls are happy! 

As far as travel days go, it was pretty uneventful, which is exactly how I like them. The only issue was getting all that luggage home. I love traveling light, and so when I have three suitcases and two carry-on items, that is a LOT to manage. Thank goodness for carts at the airport. 

I got everything packed into the three suitcases and my backpack, except for a few things which went into the handy-dandy tote bag that I had with me. 

Packed and ready to roll!

So I was buzzing around the house trying to finish off the laundry, including making the guest bed, putting clothes away, and folding towels. Mission accomplished. I managed to get the filter and pump cleaned in the pond, and decided that the water level was a bit low, so I grabbed the hose and let the water run. I set a 30-minute timer (Alexa - the only thing we use it for in our house). Murphy had already been walked, but Lexi needed a walk, so after the cleaning crew arrived, I took her out for a thirty-minute walk.  

When I ...

Phew—yesterday was a whirlwind of a day, although I certainly took my time doing things, and now I'm going to pay the price this morning as I finish the tasks that I was supposed to finish yesterday!

There is nothing like having several open suitcases and mad packing! Actually, what I love is being able to change the number of suitcases I bring—I'm bringing samples—lots and lots of samples, so I have three suitcases. Two with samples, and one with clothes, which I still need to pack, and I'm leaving in three hours! 

There ...

I'm exhausted this morning! I seemed exhausted all day until it was time to sleep! I just woke up - the blog is going to be late!!!

Travel days are long, and even though yesterday was a short travel day, we lost three hours due to the time change. It was easy - we got up, caught the hotel shuttle back to the airport. We hung out at the lounge for a bit, and then I suggested we go down to the gate to try something new. 

DH is always grumbling about having to stand in the Zone 2 boarding lane ...

Thanks to everyone for your lovely comments about the wedding. Can you believe that, even though I am always taking pictures, I have very few from that day! I have no pictures of myself and only three shots of the bride and groom. No pictures of any guests and none with other family members. What was I thinking? 

But they had a photographer who took a ton of photos, so I guess we'll have to wait until those come and try to get a few shots. 

We were busy that day, and yet we were not. I'm happy ...

Today is the day!!! The big wedding, but FIRST - I have to tell you about yesterday, and then you'll hear all about the wedding tomorrow. 

I'm not sure where the others were, but I asked the previous day if anyone wanted to go for a bike ride! I had a couple of takers, but when push came to shove, they were working out in the gym! But that's OK - I thoroughly enjoyed riding the bike. And sometimes being by yourself on a bike is best! 

Off for a ride

However, I had to sign a waiver, which ...

The best laid plans and then life happens! But yesterday was an amazing day, even if I didn't accomplish anything. WAIT  - I actually accomplished a very important thing -- nurturing a friendship, which is way more valuable than making things, except when you are supposed to be making things for your daughter's wedding! LOL. 

I had planned a lunch date with a friend, and yesterday was the only day we could make it happen this month. That "lunch" date turned into hours and hours of lively, energizing conversation. It was glorious, and I'm surprised we didn't get ...

OH MY --- I was exhausted when I got home. I had a decent sleep the night before, but it was short. Can you believe I went to bed at 6:30 last night and got up at 4:30 AM—that is a rarity for me. I had five minutes of awake time and 1 hour and 13 minutes of deep sleep! Phew --- I feel great this morning, and that was probably my best sleep score ever. Those sleep scores only give you excellent if the sleep duration is long. 

But let's step back and see what happened in ...

WOW --- what great stories of coincidences!!!! And, amazingly, our brain makes these connections! It's an amazing tool, and we need to use it or listen to it a lot more than we do!!

Good progress was made at the retreat house. I moved another bag of finished projects to the car last night, leaving one bag of projects and my knitting bag! We are here until Sunday, so I should be able to touch most of the stuff I brought. Well, let's see, since some of them are small, but still -- despite my panic packing at the end ...

OH MY --- there are so many stories of how people just "randomly" meet, and it's meant to be. The blog is going to be late, as I listened to another story of just such a situation. Life is so full of coincidences, or are they really coincidences? The next time a coincidence happens --- think about it --- that happened for a reason.  

I am not sure that I'll go for a walk this morning - at least not in the direction that we have been going - down the local road. The black flies are out, and, well, I had a ...

I know—I said NEVER, and will likely be saddled with fleece and flannel forever!!! But more progress in that department in a minute. 

As I surveyed what I'm working on at this retreat, the title for the blog came to mind. By poor, I mean someone with not much of a budget. I finished cutting all the fleece into usable bits. A job that most people would have just said no to and tossed the fleece. I get enjoyment from it. 

Then this happened. 

I had to hand-stitch the facing around the collar of this jacket that I ...

Thanks for the suggestions on computers—I'll look into them because I'd love to get the old computer off the second desk! It takes up a lot of room! 

There was a lot of trepidation in the house as I unboxed the second HP printer. This time, I took pictures as I unboxed it. There's that heavy paper strap around the shrink-wrapped printer. And it worked like a charm. No need to bend deep to pull the printer out of the box. I was very impressed. 

Pull on the heavy cardboard strip to remove the printer

Then ...