What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

I'm glad I'm not the only one having dreams. I woke up remembering another dream, but it was a pleasant dream. Some of us were sewing, making things, and borrowing stuff from each other - just like at a quilt retreat! It was a fun dream! 

And I'm happy to report that I had a great day yesterday. I did not get everything done that I wanted to, but I made tremendous progress. I completed almost half of the side job, efficiently using the fabric I was given, and effectively using my time. It took just over three ...

 Before I begin blabbing this morning, I want to revisit the picture from yesterday. 

The crazy quilter on a bike with her trusty companions

Someone suggested I could download a picture of myself and use it to create the photo. I figured I could, just not there yet. 

What I wanted to say is that I didn't tell ChatGPT anything except "crazy quilter on a bike" and the two dogs, and to make the photo realistic. I did NOT tell it to make a quilted jacket, nor hair or skin color, nor gender, nor clothing. It did that on ...

OH ---- I learn so darn much from all of you that it blows my mind! I just read the comment because we were discussing ways to use up those partially wound bobbins. Well, why can't you use the partially wound bobbins (from the long arm) to piece with, but on TOP, not in the bobbin? DUH!!! I knew that!!! LOL

Perfect because there are some rogue colors in those bobbins that have been there for eons, and well, I don't need them. Here's the thing, because I'm sure many of you are gasping at the thought ...

LOL - Your comments are so funny! I'll answer them individually this morning!

But seriously -- WAIZE versus Google Maps? Oh dear --- DH and I have this discussion all the time. I'm a Google Maps girl, and he likes WAIZE and never ceases to encourage me to use it. Well, I have had ZERO issues with Google Maps. Any app I use uses Google Maps, like Geocaching, and my house locator (shh -- used for spying, not moving!), and so I love Google Maps! 

The issue with my car is that Android Auto seemed to be timing out - it had nothing ...

Oh my --- I love the comments!!! YES -- I can see some individualized sew-alongs happening!!! One for the Savannah quilt and one for the suitcases!!!! And that William Morris quote --- you bet -- we all need that one in our house, and I'm going to look at it every time I touch anything. Hmmm --- there might not be anything left. I'd better warn Lexi and Murphy!! Right now they are helpful, well, no, they are beautiful and always will be!!

I confess that I wasn't quite as productive as I would have liked yesterday, but then I went on ...

Just waiting for the email wth the photos to come through! It's been a super productive retreat so far, and we still have a few days to go. Can I finish the remaining quilt tops for the dog quilts? They will have to wait unit October to be quilted, but that's OK. 

OK -- the pictures came through, but some of them need a bit of editing; however, that doesn't seem to want to happen this morning. No big deal -- some are sideways -- we'll just have to let it go. 

This first picture is a bit weird ...

Lol --- yes --- depending on the time of year you were here at Springhouse Retreat -- many of us have watched the corn grow! There never seems to be a lack of entertainment in the form of the fancy equipment moving in and out of that massive driving shed! I find it fascinating!

I've done pretty well at my goal of making those eight quilt tops from the dog fabric. Here is number one. 

Dog quilt number one!

I want to keep them simple and easy to piece. I want them to be approximately 60 inches by 72 inches, and I ...

I will be good and keep this blog clean of "banned" topics. But there are times when I'd love to dive deep. I think it's essential to have venues that are free of that kind of stuff. I've often thought about starting another forum where I could rant and rave to my heart's content. In the meantime, DH gets the brunt of it! And that's all I'll say on that topic. 

By banned, I mean I had to ban specific topics from my Monday Sewing group because the conversations just went ugly, and that ...

Oh dear - Murphy's bone is rawhide! We've never had issues with her, but I've heard horror stories of other things getting stuck in a dog's gut. Hmm -- what are my options - she only seems to like to chew rawhide. Antlers - suitable for a quick chew, but not lasting. She doesn't like them. 

I don't know what her problem is these days, but she is worse than Velcro. You can't sit down without her there, trying to coerce you to pet her. And one hand is NOT enough - it has to be both! Oh ...

Oh my -- I need to get back to answering your comments. So many great ideas -- thanks for all of them. Maybe I'll get back to a few today. 

Yesterday, I gave two more presentations. This time, our format is 90 minutes, not 60, and that extra 30 minutes is tough. No, it's not tough, but I'm so used to a 60-minute format that it's just a question of getting used to it. Plus, I open my calls 30 minutes in advance, so each call is now 2 hours. No bathroom break, so I have to watch ...

 We have a situation in our house. It's not serious if you are human, but it's pretty bad if you have four legs. In the past, our girls were used to being on their own. If one or both of us were gone, they handled it gracefully. Now that we both work from home, we are here for the girls 100% of the time. 

So when DH went away earlier this week, the girls, and Lexi in particular, were NOT happy. 

After the walk, I was taking off my shoes and saw this: Lexi was sitting in front ...

 Oh dear - what have I done? And I can't even blame DH for this one! Plus, I should know better. 

What happened? I saw that we were getting low on laundry detergent, so I decided to buy some on one of my trips to the grocery store. Hmm - I looked at all the containers but didn't spot the same one we are currently using. Oh my -- all these scents. Gross! 

I purchased one with "Original Scent," thinking it would be scent-free. What an idiot I am!!! 

That is NOT scent-free, and now our house stinks like this scent ...

So what happened? A LOT! While my situation is pretty tame compared to the mental health issues that others experience, I can see how debilitating it can be. When I get into one of these states, my productivity goes down, I procrastinate, and I almost make myself sick with the weight of the issue on my shoulders. That gets me into those stressful time crunches. Thankfully, I can dig myself out of a hole, but it might take a long time for that to happen. 

I thought it was timely that this was the message on my Yogi Positive Energy ...

I got a chuckle from Elle's comment. Tiny home living is for those without "space-required" hobbies! Oh my! I did say that I would have all my sewing stuff in another space! What a hoot! But seriously - that should be something everyone needs to be told upfront. If you are going to quilt, you need SPACE. I know some people (Paula Neidlestern comes to mind) sew in tiny spaces, but where do they store stuff? OH - they don't buy a ton of things! 

BTW - Paula lives in a small apartment in New York City. She used to sew ...

Oh - if you only knew! While I'm doing a great job with the rest of the house, I'll confess that Studio B looks like a train wreck! There's something about that space that just won't let me tidy it up! Many things have homes, and that works, but there are too many irons in the fire at the moment, and I just can't get it cleaned up! 

Case in point: I went to cut some quilt blocks yesterday. Where can I put my mini design boards? They were teetering on one of my digital cutters ...

I had a chance to read more of the Organizing magazine and found some tidbits to share with you. 

But first, I promised some pictures of my decluttering/organizing skills. 

One of the things about decluttering/organizing is that if you don't do it correctly, and by that, I mean - in a way suited to YOUR needs, the system won't work. You'll end up with a cluttered, chaotic organization system. While it is good to check out what the magazine says, or I guess I should say social media, or me, you have to tailor ANY solution ...

It's a new year, and many people are setting goals, such as how many books they will read, how many projects they will work on, or how many miles they will walk. 

Last night, in our Conquerer Facebook group, I noticed that one person set a lofty goal for 2025: The circumference of the earth, which is 24,910 MILES at the equator. Seriously? That's 68 MILES a day. What is their mode of transportation? A scooter? A car? which then defeats the purpose of a challenge to get you moving. 

I see someone else posted this morning ...

Decluttering! A lifelong skill that no one teaches, but they should! Clutter creeps up because we don't have homes for the things we own. And we are notorious for buying MORE. For fun, look at this short video. Need I say more? 

Here's something that I've noticed about myself. Years ago, I would quickly get bored at home. I know -- how could that happen? It wasn't boredom so much as the need to talk to someone. So, who did I talk to? Diane and Susannah at Ruti's Needlebed. I'd go over and chat for ...

You'll be happy to know (and I'm thrilled) that I made excellent progress on the samples, and I'm almost done. Yes, a bit more stitching is needed, and they will be finished. Thank goodness. I didn't think the process out too much in advance; I may have overdone it. But I'm learning lots while making them, and that's all that counts!

I know that many of you are in the process of decluttering right along with me. There are all kinds of 30-day plans, and on each day, you tackle a different area. I ...

I know that I shouldn't be reading all these old magazines. I'm above that - toss them and be done with it. Buy no more than you can read. However, I have to say that I LOVE reading them. They are almost more entertaining than reading the current ones, which tend to be filled with patterns I'll never make. 

Here's what I learned from a quilting magazine that is over 25 years old! The magazine is called Sampler Quilts by Quilt and has a copyright date 1999. 

Sampler Quilt magazine

Didn't everyone make a sampler quilt ...