What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

OMG --- For real, I'm back! So much to say today!

I have to tell you about this strange phone call I got. I was about to call someone in a different area code when I received a call from that area code. It wasn't the store I was about to call—it was neither of the two stores in that same area code that I needed to contact. There was no name, and although it said "verified number," I didn't answer. 

Funny enough, I received a voicemail, so I listened to it. "Hey Muhammed, I was hoping ...

I think I'm almost back to normal time, but I'm still tired in the morning, so always a little bit behind; I should be good tomorrow. 

OK—so what's with all the dreaming? The sleep I'm getting is deep because I'm dreaming, which I probably do every night, but I just don't remember the dreams. 

I remember the dreams, and it's weird how it takes events in a day and mixes them up. The last two nights have both been dreams about quilting. A friend mentioned a quilt she was making the other ...

Is it me, or do the days seem to run into each other quickly? It's not like I don't enjoy the days, but they are going quickly! The good news is that I went to bed last night and slept like a log. I woke up when my alarm went off. And seconds later, Murphy was beyond herself with excitement. I ran to the window to see what caused such a panic, and I spotted THREE raccoons chasing each other. 

That's a new one for me. I've seen them running up trees and waddling across the ...

What???  I can't get enough Vitamin D just by being outside? Oh boy --- I guess I have a lot to learn. One day, I'll get it all figured out! What I need now is a good formula for sleep. For the most part, I'm a good sleeper, but the last two nights have been horrible. I feel like something the cat dragged in. 

While I have loads to do this week, there is loads of time to get it done, so there's no pressure. I only have a few problems that need to be resolved and ...

 Not only did I Quilt and cross stitch this past year, but I attempted some other crafts.  Some of the things I'm going to show will be some items that I didn't make but that I helped or taught others to make.  I also belong to a craft group that meets once a month and there are a few fun things for that.  And others items are just things I thought I'd try.

Craft Group - it's a group of about 14 ladies from my sisters neighborhood (mostly) and we meet once a month and have a ...

I have been bitten by the machine embroidery bug, and February is National Embroidery Month. It is a good time to explore more ideas and projects to use this machine capability. Now that I have a good combination of stabilizers, the designs are coming out well. I still have the problem of some thread breakage, and seems to be worse on darker colors. Amazingly, my older Sulky rayon threads do not have as much of a problem with this as the newer Floriani threads. Quality products are hard to find these days. Anyway, on a recent newsletter from one of ...

This project may prove my undoing or the welcome of epiphany moments—time will tell.

I have sort of a like-hate relationship with foundation paper piecing, and I’m hopeful this will be the gateway to a love of it.  I consider the technique a necessary evil in some situations, and have tried to avoid those situations.  But I learned of this particular quilt pattern when Tula Pink showed hers in her Tula Talk Tuesday videos on Facebook and Instagram in mid-2020 and was immediately smitten. This was during the Click Buy Now period; I bought the pattern and a ...

Oh my --- I had a busy day, but I don't have much to show! But I tried, and what doesn't get completely finished, at least, is a sample. The finishing will come later! I trust the people looking at the samples aren't going for finesse -- we're going for the inspiration and the ideas! Plus, I have some finished samples. 

But the day started with the two Zoom classes, which went great! I am passionate about teaching, and well, I'm just darn good at it! No one toots their own horn often enough, but I'll ...

I have to say that I'm super PROUD of my kid! While we don't always agree, she has a head on her shoulders and didn't panic! 

She's been in Turkey for the last couple of weeks. She met up with a couple of friends, and they've been having a blast by the look of the pictures. They were initially going to Turkey, Jordan, and Egypt, but thankfully, they changed their plans. I did not say anything. It's not my vacation and not my life! 

Now, it was time for her to return, and she ...

For our last project post of Autumn Jubilee, we are going to play with Mason jars in the sewing room, and then preview a few new releases from our giveaway sponsor.

Using Mason jars to separate buttons by color is a fun way to display your button collection. I put bits of Harvest Festival fabrics on the lids. The one on the left has a plastic ring from a cross stitch kit.

Making a sewing gift from a Mason jar is fun for the fall season. Using a pumpkin print, cut a square roughly twice the size of the ring ...

I'm amazed at the number of SPAM comments my blog gets. OK -- I guess it's not that many, but it is annoying. And these are NOT written by a person. Nope -- we have Artificial Intelligence to thank for that! Those little robots get out there and latch onto whatever hook they can. It's like all technology for me -- I have a LOVE/HATE relationship with it. 

The same thing with Instagram and Facebook. Many people wonder who is sitting there asking to be their friends. It is NOT a person -- it's AI -- so a robot is ...

So FINALLY we get to the Sheep in Sweaters Tote!  When I started the previous post, I discovered I’d never blogged about the turquoise tote, which is the forerunner and partner of this one!  I will say now that I have finished this post (Part 2), it is LONG–but I wanted to be sure you got ALL the good info. If you’re here for just the totebag part, skim the embroidery bits! Thanks for reading!

Those of you who get my newsletter (sign up in right sidebar on this blog or the bottom of all the other ...

It was another intense day of automation in Studio B! But first, we had two Zooms (EQ8 and digital cutters), which were excellent sessions. I now have some follow-up work, and there is always paperwork, but not today, as it's Monday sewing! 

This is what I worked on the day before. I started with the mySewnet embroidery software and created this. Note that I have made modifications to it since I took this picture. I dabbled in embroidery software years ago but had no idea what I was doing. Now -- do NOT attempt to take my embroidery software away ...

Thanks for the tips on sorting digital files and scraps! In an ideal world, all my photos would be tagged and stored in Photoshop Lightroom, making it a snap to find any of them! Sadly, they are not, but I'll work on it! And my computer files are mostly named correctly; however, I think it's mostly because of their location in the file system that I can find them. And I will say that, for the most part, I can find those files very quickly - except for the other day when I needed them for my presentation! 

The ...

Where is the time going? It seems like it was January 1, not so long ago, and now it's May 15. 

And where did the warm weather go? I started out in shorts and had to change to long pants as it was cool. 

We had two great presentations in the morning, and while I love all the classes, I love the machine embroidery and software one. So many creative ideas, and people are using their machines and software in so many creative ways. Well, that goes for the digital cutters as well. 

But I had created this large ...

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 ...

 I literally fell into bed last night. I hadn't slept well the night before, and at one point, I needed sleep! Thankfully, it was at the end of the day! But I had a great sleep, so I'm ready to go today!

It's my Dad's 90th birthday!! He is the hardest person to catch on the phone, as he is never home when I call, so I'll try and catch him later today. Happy Birthday, Dad!! Oh gosh --- it was only when I went to open the picture file that I realized his birthday is ...

The final countdown. In a little over 24 hours, I'll be on my way to the airport. Will the second deadline be finished? I have no choice, as it ALL has to be done, as it's not something I can fluff my way through. 

I'm happy to report that EXCELLENT progress was made yesterday. There is NO audiobook happening, no radio, nothing but silence, and you know what? I LOVE it! I've got time to think, to reflect, my brain is relaxed, there is no rush, and so far - no panic! Everything is going as planned ...

Hmm -- what did I do yesterday? I spent the ENTIRE day, and it was a long one, in Studio B. What happened? Well, lots of stuff happened, just nothing I can share with you now. 

What kind of progress was made? Well, I made progress -- just not as much as I would have liked, but I'm almost at the point where I wanted to be. 

I had to do machine embroidery, and I swear I couldn't piece the blocks fast enough to get them embroidered! Was that because the PFAFF creative icon 2 is FAST? Or was the ...