What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Oh, it's a wee bit of a challenge to type with a bandaid on your finger! Yep -- I was so excited about eating my watermelon that I cut my finger. And it was a simple matter of I forgot to move my finger out of the way. Ouch!  It was a simple cut, but it bled like crazy. OK - the bandaid is off, and that feels better. 

Ouch

We had a great day on Monday sewing. However, I didn't seem to make a lot of progress on those darn pineapple blocks. I was shopping for a couple of ...

So I would never be able to run a marathon - running just isn't in my genes or in my head. But I could ride my bicycle all day and be happy. But when you're in the long haul for something, like having to ride 100 miles in a day, you need milestones to get you there. You start to pay attention to the mile markers on the roadside. You watch the mileage signs as you approach the next town, you play games in your head, and so on. 

Sometimes, it can seem that the miles go on forever ...

Looking at my memories on Facebook, one year ago, yesterday was my FIRST class on ZOOM. Oh boy -- what I didn't know when I started and now look! I was on Zoom for most of yesterday! Who knew that was going to happen and that Zoom would become our lifeline (so to speak!). And HEY - my hair is getting so long. 

There are so many ideas for classes and demos; there just isn't enough time to run them all. As long as people keep signing up, I'll keep running them. I have a stack of ideas, and ...

I was going to provide a sub-title for today's post, and that is DISASTER. OK -- that's being a bit dramatic, but look what happened. 

What??????

I had to wind bobbins this morning, so I decided to change the needle and clean the lint from the bobbin case. Now the machine won't sew. I know some little thing got jiggled out of place - I SWEAR - I was NOT aggressive in the cleaning. This has never happened to me in over 20 years of sewing. GRRRRR!!!

No worries - I just popped over to another machine. Of course, the same ...

 OH MY GOODNESS  - It's Virtual Retreat weekend this coming weekend, and I totally forgot to mention it! What have I been thinking about? 

So the Virtual Retreat is Saturday evening from 6 PM - 9 PM and all day on Sunday from 10 AM - 8 PM. It's so much fun - I hope you can join us. What else are we going to do since we can't get out? At least in our area. But then, even if I could get out, I'm not sure where I would go or what I would do. The lockdown has been ...

 I'm happy to report that although I didn't get as much done as I would have liked yesterday, it was an AWESOME day! Too much time on the phone - but I won't go there!

Here's something that we need to be very conscious of, and trust me - it's hard to grasp this concept. I'd say that quilters are extremely caught up in this, and it's why we have so many UFOs. 

The other day, I saw an acquaintance post a picture on Social media - she has already cycled just over 2,000 KM ...

 I'm sure we've all had those days that we wish never happened. That was yesterday! 

Let's see -- what didn't go right. I slept badly last night (thanks in no part to Miss Lexi banging on the door at  1 AM, NEEDING to come in), and then I couldn't get back to sleep. I quilted the quilt from hell (The quilt was fine - the backing situation was not - I should have said NO), I spent more time on the phone than I normally do and ended up in a discussion about something I said I wouldn ...

I'm positively in chill-out mode. OK -- so I'm not up to date on everything - still three more documents to write up, two quilts that need to be quilted, and well - that's it. OK - so there are two small quilt projects that I'd like to work on. But seriously?? I'm in control! The studio is pretty much organized; there's NOTHING on the calendar starting tomorrow for FIVE entire days. Oh my -- what am I going to do with myself? 

It's going to be a glorious day - weather-wise and well - we need to get this ...

 It's a GREAT DAY!! I'm making great progress with my work - still far behind, but making good progress. I'm feeling better - not 100%, but much better, and the weather is spectacular!

As promised, I'd better get the Show and Tell up for Long Time Gone. There's a LOT, so sit back and enjoy. What amazes me is how different each project looks. The students have certainly upped the anty with their choices of fabrics and placement of value. I'm so impressed. 

To keep all the pictures in one spot, here are Bernice and Betty ...

NO -- I'm not moving. We're quite happy where we are, but I noticed on my recent walks that there are two houses for sale in our area. One of them is empty, and I noticed that it's been recently renovated. That fact was hard to miss when there's been a huge dumpster in the driveway for weeks. The other house is up for sale - AGAIN! It doesn't seem to sell, then it goes back on the market again. 

Let's face it - curiosity killed the cat, and I had to see what the inside of ...

 I'm pleased to report that I feel much better this morning. Not 100%, but much better. For some reason, my neck seems a bit stiff as well. I tried a new pillow last night, had a nap in the afternoon, ate salty chips, drank lots of water, had a wee chat with the doctor (no need for alarm). Thanks to everyone who sent e-mails and suggestions. We'll just see how things progress, but I think I'll cancel my chiro appointment this week. BTW - he did NOT adjust or go anywhere near my neck, so this can't ...

FIRST -- I stand corrected!!! Yesterday I made a mistake. The interviewees did NOT get paid. That was very clear, but for some reason, I misinterpreted the information. I apologize for that. Thanks to a couple of readers who pointed that out. I've corrected my post from yesterday. What is disturbing is that while these people didn't get paid, the network paid $7 - 9 million for the rights to produce that interview, so someone profited. If you want to live a private life, then you should keep it private. You can't have your cake and eat it too ...

 With a very HEAVY heart, I let you know that Fireside Retreat House will be sold this year. I received the bad news last night. NO!!!!!!!  I know they took a beating last year with so many cancellations because of COVID. Well, we did our best to keep them afloat and rented the house FIVE times at four nights each time. 

BUT - it wasn't enough, and with the sketchy year ahead of us, I'm sure they are anticipating a very sketchy year this coming year. Oh - this is terrible news. My heart goes out to Emma, who put ...

 I have loved Jen Kingwell's quilt patterns for a long time, and I had even started one but never got too far. It appears that I am not alone! I'm currently leading a huge group of quilters through Long Time Gone, hosted by Thimbles and Things. 

All I can say is that I think we're all going to become Jen Kingwell's groupies until we've made all her quilts! Watch the blog for more details, but I have a funny feeling that there will be ANOTHER class once we settle on the pattern. If you want ...

Do you ever have those days when you're so excited and so much is going on that you feel like a kid in a penny candy store with ten cents??? OK - so perhaps I'm dating myself by saying that, but seriously - so much stuff is going on, and it's not even huge stuff. Yep - the little things in life just make me so happy. 

I see that Rose has read the six books in the Rockton series I mentioned yesterday by Kelley Armstrong. I didn't have a chance to listen to the audiobook yesterday, although it ...

Well, I've been up since ridiculous o'clock. I had all intentions of getting some documents written so they could be sent out. I have a few that are due NOW. Instead, I spent hours doing admin work and prepping for the three sessions today. I'm OK with that - the admin stuff needed to be taken care of to make life easier for me. And I think I almost have all the distribution lists, class introductions, etc., taken care of! Phew - I'm guarding those lists with my life. If those distribution lists get lost, I'm going ...

Have you noticed as you get older that your body reacts differently to different things? I used to have zero issues with scents. The strongest scents wouldn't faze me at all. Then I noticed that I cannot have my clothes washed in ANY kind of scented laundry detergent. Just can't hack it. So now we have two boxes of laundry detergent - the scented and the unscented. Once the scented is gone - there will be no more in our house. Why do they make this stuff so strong? I can be walking outside and smell when someone is drying ...

 While I'm not out of the woods yet, the level of craziness has subsided! I've only myself to blame, and now that it's a bit quieter, I must keep working, so I don't end up in a crazy time crunch again! I know you're all shaking your heads because you all know that it's going to happen again. I swear that my body thrives on the pressure! 

I'm almost ready for the UFO club this morning. I have less than a half-hour of work to do, so I can just squeeze that in ...

Do you ever have one of those days when things just go haywire? That was yesterday. I had plans - I really did, and several things put a wrench in the mix. So I just decided to take the rest of the day off. GASP!!!  I know - I'm feeling the pressure this morning, but I'll just put the pressure on the back burner and focus on ONE thing at a time. That's all I can do. 

I did sit and finish reading that book. Oh boy - I didn't see that ending coming! Loads of twists at the ...

I'm afraid to say anything about my internet. I did my first Zoom call yesterday. I was just a participant and no issues. Then I hosted an hour and a half call and no drops. Then another hour-long Zoom call and no drops. Wow -- the feeling of doing the presentations and now having any drops is refreshing. Then a couple of hours on Zoom in the evening and no drops. 

The total number of hours on Zoom (over 7) and no drops and VERY successful Zoom sessions all day and well, I felt like I had won the lottery ...