What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

What happened here? I got up a bit earlier than usual and got the presentations done, and then I felt tired, so I figured a wee nap was in order, and WHAM! I'm really late, so the blog will be short!

Last night, we had a fantastic show and tell for our Jen Kingwell remedial. I have taught several Jen Kingwell quilts over the last 5 years. Some of the tops had been completed, and some had not. So I, along with others, toiled away. 

You know what was the best thing I heard last night? "THANK YOU for ...

OH, NO --- should I buy Murphy a special bed to keep her out of the flowers! I see them at PetSmart, and well, I don't know about her and an outdoor dog bed! It might be something, but I bet she'll be back in the leaves before I know it! I'll ask her what she thinks!

OMG --- I just checked, and you can buy FOLDING dog beds for outdoors. I better keep her away from the computer, or who knows what she will want. Maybe she wants one with a canopy? 

Meanwhile, on hot days, there is ...

Again --- thanks so much for the comments! I need some quiet time to digest them, and I've put myself in a bit of a bind this morning for time. 

I got up at the right time but didn't realize that I booked a bike in spin class, and I hate to miss it, but I don't have time. I'm going, but only for half, as I still have a few things to do before leaving for the retreat. 

We had loads of fun at the Virtual Retreat. However, I was a bit "out of it" as ...

So before I tell you all about the back, let's talk about the firsts! 

As you are probably aware, I love to find geocaches. Now I'm not a huge geocache person as I haven't hit 600 yet, but I like to do it from time to time. And it's something fun to do in a location you are visiting. As with all things I love, there are many ways to measure what you do - the number of caches you find, the level of difficulty, the size of the container, and many other things. One thing that ...

Today is the last day of the show and tell for the Jen Kingwell quilts. We're working on one more (Green Tea and Sweet Beans), but that won't be finished until the end of the year. Yes -- FOUR Jen Kingwell quilts in one year! And I'm contemplating one more -- My Small World, which is considerably smaller and looks less intense. I'll see how my sanity remains as the fall approaches. Leave me a comment if you're interested. Did I just write that? 

This is the SECOND time I have taught the Long Time Gone quilt ...

What can I say besides the fact that we are so relaxed here that -- if we don't get any sewing done - who cares? We didn't spend quite so much time at the dinner table, but we had other things we needed to get done! 

We are all sleeping like babies here. Since some babies don't sleep well, is that a good expression to use? But it's so darn peaceful here; I could stay here forever. In my case, it's likely peaceful because Lexi and Murphy are not here! But then I miss their furry antics ...

I love that we all have the same interests! Recommending books to each other is so much fun, and I have to say that you have introduced me to some new authors, and I've returned the favor! It's been a  bit of an eye-opener, to say the least. I would be stuck with the same author's over and over again! 

And thanks to everyone for your comments -- I need to get some time to acknowledge them because I read them all and love the feedback! 

Speaking of antiques - I saw Judy has donated the last box of ...

OH -- I have to get back to responding to the comments!! Someone is also reading The End of Her. I finished it while walking the dogs, and well -- I don't want to say what happened, but I was a bit surprised. That's all I'm going to say! This is NOT the sort of book they talk about in a book club, but I want to discuss this with someone! 

I've started another book -- Looking for Jane by Heather Marshal. Someone recommended it to me. OH my -- what a fantastic premise. Who dreams up this stuff? I ...

I'm pretty excited that I've met my January goals.  A little motivation goes a long way it seems. 

My goal for OMG (One Monthly Goal) at Elm Street Quilts was to finish putting my Long Time Gone top together.  It was in five sections in December, and now it's a top.  I thought it was finished after I put the sections together, but then I looked at the instructions.  (Funny how important that is.) It seems it still needed borders.  Twelve.  Three on each side.  And pieced.  Aarrgghh!   At least I had plenty of strips in my ...

 It was a bit of an intense day. Lots of Zoom and more frustration with UPS. 

I'm beyond frustrated with UPS. After another lengthy conversation and being on hold several times, the conclusion is that customs is sitting on the package. Of course, they are off for the weekend, so nothing will happen until Monday morning at the earliest. I've spoken to a supervisor who wasn't really any more helpful than the CSRs. I'm supposed to get a call from the brokers on Monday morning. Let's pray - a LOT. 

Yep -- I could definitely have walked ...

Another pretty productive day! I'll share all the stuff with you next week as I'm going through the show and tell before I forget about it! 

I worked on the All in a Row quilt for THREE days when we were at the retreat. Yep, I was that far behind, and one of the rows was a LOT of work. I'm still not quite as caught up as I'd like to be, but I'm working on it! OK -- so I'm NOT working on it at the moment. I have a few other pressing things ...

I'm right in the middle of a marathon! And I'm winning - well, I'm on pace. Yesterday was a totally crazy day. I was on track, although I did have a couple of interruptions. It's a bit sad when your time is measured in 15-minute increments, and you need to decide if you can give up one of those precious time slots! Let's just say that I had to get up at ridiculous o'clock this morning, but almost everything is done. 

I still have the equivalent of two hours (don't ask) of prep time ...

My intense weekend is coming up. Lots of stuff to prep, so I know what I'll be doing today. And that means there's going to be some Show and Tell all next week!! I have three classes, one presentation to listen to, and a discussion on UFOs. And the virtual retreat. It's a jam-packed weekend. 

Our province-wide reopening plan was announced yesterday, and well - I'm not ready!!  It's easy to say NO to things right now because we can't do them. But when things open up? I think I'll still say NO. I ...

It's time for the Show and Tell for our Long Time Gone project. It's been a great journey with an amazing group of quilters. They are all so creative, and if they didn't like something, they changed it! That's very exciting to know that people don't just take the pattern and copy it exactly. Some people do, and they are happy, but when you start to mess with the pattern - well, I love that! And the colorways? Oh boy - some of these will blow your socks off. None of them look like the original, which ...

 I smell a skunk! I think someone got hit this morning. Thankfully both girls are in the house as I'm not sure either of them would be smart enough to run! 

So there's good news and bad news today. The good news is this.

An empty design wall

Yep - that's where the Long Time Gone quilt was. And I'm happy to report that it's all in one piece! Yahoo!!!! I'm pretty excited. No, actually, it's kind of anti-climatic. I'm just relieved that it's together. I have one more thing to do ...

It was a pretty intense day - Monday sewing, walking, prepping for a class, and then presenting the class. BUT all is good. Another busy day today, but things are prepped - well, a wee bit more tweaking, but I'm ready!

OK -- I know - you're all waiting to hear how I made out with those darn pineapple blocks. LOOK!!!

The four pineapple blocks

They are DONE!!! And now ALL the blocks for this quilt are done!! I'm shocked - this would never have happened years ago, and it would have become a UFO. It's such a motivating group!!!! I ...

I don't know that what I did to my Long Time Gone was worth the effort. It's been like a monkey on my back since I started. However, I'm happy that I've done it. And I bet that NO ONE will be able to see what I did. But that's OK. Here's the good news - Sections 1, 2, and 3 are back together. And Section 6 is now completely fixed. Section 5 is almost ready for the final sewing together. That one was easy since I hadn't sewn it completely together. 

I should ...

I really should look at the notifications that appear on my blog. However, I have techie friends who alert me to upcoming changes. Thanks to Morgan for this. For those of you who subscribe to the blog and get a daily e-mail, that feature will go away in July. There is some option that I need to implement so you won't miss a single crazy episode. I'll be looking into that and let you know what's happening!

I also need to put together a distribution list and a newsletter - just because I want to. I've got ...

OK -- I think I've put more miles on my car this week than I have the entire year so far! I had things to pick up and drop off, and it just happened that it all came together this week. Holy -- it takes time to do those errands - I was away for FIVE hours yesterday, so I didn't get a whole lot done. However, I did FOUR errands in those five hours, and I've got some fun show and tell. But not today. 

I need to catch up from two days ago. Let's say that I ...

 As I was prepping the pictures for this morning, I wondered what title I should use for the blog post. I had just finished listening to Alex Anderson's "live" post from Wednesday morning. Oh boy -- people do NOT listen. She started a sew-along which I think is free to anyone. The pattern can be found on The Quilt Show webpage (top right-hand corner). It's only three pages, and there are kits - probably all gone by now. But any fabric would work. 

So the first session was on cutting and prepping. How many people asked - can I do this ...