What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Twice a year, our guild hosts a three day sleep-at-home retreat. We have an event venue where we can take our machines and things to work on, set up once on day one and leave it overnight while we go home for dinner and to sleep. Then we come back for two more days to sew and enjoy the company of friends. I didn’t have any piecing project that I wanted to do this time, but a friend suggested that I bring my little embroidery machine and do some holiday things. Sounded good, so I did that. I set ...

Stay at Home retreat starts today, and I’ve spent a couple of days trying to decide what to take. I do not have any piecing project in the works nor do I have any planned. I’ve made all the Quilts of Valor, Safelight Shelter and Project Linus quilts that I am going to do for this year. I don’t need another lap quilt or bed quilt for my home. I only have one quilt in the concept stage for my sister-in-law and I’m a long way away from being able to start that one. I need ...

Lots of details here.

This project started with a bible verse in my head many months ago, but without knowing what to do with it.

Back in June and just before our trip to Nashville, some of my quilting buddies and I took a day to shop in some of the area quilt and needlework shops. While in one of them one of the girls was looking at the panels. I am not a panel person. But I wandered over there and decided to look, and that was when this panel told me that it had to be part of ...

Oh wow -- Barbie clothes from stretch fabric! That's a cool idea, and I have a whole bunch of leftovers from making T-shirts. Brand new, it would be an excellent way to get rid of that basket of scraps! Love the idea. 

So I didn't quite finish what I planned yesterday, but I did sit down and PLAN the two samples I need to make, and the fabric is ready, so all I have to do today is stitch them out. It should NOT take long. OK -- you can stop laughing now. 

I have two classes this weekend; one ...

Someone posted a comment that all quilt stores are becoming the same, so what is the point of shopping at one versus the other? While that may be true to some extent, I think the "copying" goes back even further. 

The FABRIC is becoming the same, so shops don't have as much variety as they used to. And SADLY, what fabric companies make reflects what sells the most. We used to have easy access to categories like 30s and Asian, two categories I haven't seen in quite a while. That doesn't mean they are completely gone - I ...

Pepper on cottage cheese? OK -- I must try that. I'm away this coming week (AGAIN!), but I'll try it when I get home. I still have two road trips before the end of the year and one and perhaps two plane trips. Wait -- and a weekend quilt retreat. It's going to be silly. 

PHEW -- both presentations are done for this morning. I swear it's amassing my photos for the darn things that can take so long. Thankfully, I have a very good filing system for my pictures - NOT perfect by any means, but not bad. But ...

OH MY GOSH - I love the story about the chipmunks storing nuts in the car. Those little devils!!!! And YES - I need to change my search engine - old habits die hard!!! I MUST try and remember!!! Perhaps a sticky note on my computer—that will remind me!!!!

Guess what? While I can buy that puzzle I wanted online, someone taking the ferry this week just offered to buy it for me on the ferry. That will have so much more meaning to me than buying it online. Thank you!!!! I'm taking that person up on their offer. I'm ...

I know you have been wondering what I decided to do with all those leftover flying geese. Well, today you find out. When I finished the Busy Bees quilt, I had enough time to put a lullaby quilt together for entry in the Mountain State Fair. I thought, something cute with a border of flying geese would be nice. I had the idea of just a simple round robin to start, and I decided the center should be an embroidery. So, I went to my embroidery library for some bee related motifs. The category rules state that the lullaby quilt ...

Thanks for the comments. Yes—I believe 100% that even though I am deleting, I may still need to do one more step to make Google recognize that I have deleted stuff. What is that step? I must investigate. And I have turned OFF photo backup on my phone. So that is NOT adding to the problem. 

Life sure has an interesting way of bringing you down to your knees and making you face reality! I was out walking two of the dogs yesterday when my phone rang. It was not even 8 AM, and NO ONE calls me in ...

Organiziation! It's so critical to how we work. Wait — it's critical to how much we get done, or how easy it is to get something done. Even if you love working in chaos, when things have a home, it's so much easier. 

Right now, if you looked at Studio B, you would GASP. I gasp because there are boxes of threads and stabilizers all over the floor. The cutting table and the ironing board are heaped with stuff, the sewing tables are strewn with embroidery hoops, and other "debris." It's in quite a disarray. BUT since ...

Oh my --- it's funny how sometimes taking a picture with no reference can throw things out of whack. That's why sometimes I take a picture with my hand/finger in it to show the scale. 

Remember my basket of triangles to be made into HSTs? 

My basket of triangles to make HSTs

Well, this is not a large basket. Have a look. 

The basket is 7" tall.

The basket is only 7" tall. But it's still big enough to house a LOT of those little triangles. 

Perspective or scale, might be a better word, is extremely important ...

My apologies for not mentioning that there is a fee for the scrap class. I did not post it, and it wasn't in the blurb that I shared from the Thimbles and Things website, BUT it is on the page where you have to sign up, and it's pretty clear.

Here's something that many people don't know or perhaps don't think about ...

OMG—I am stunned, and I'm exhausted. But I managed to finish everything I planned on getting done! If I had had that extra day, I might have finished the two samples I knew I had run out of time for! 

I'm thrilled to death. Did it help that I started listening to a hilarious detective story? I don't know, but whenever I was doing something mindless, I listened to the book, and it helped to keep me on track. 

Let me share the samples that are done. 

You already saw this sample - it's the tablet ...

You did not miss a post with an update on the Visual To-Do list. I will get my act together when I'm back later this week and give you an update. I need to refocus when I'm back and get to work on those items. I have been working on them over the last couple of months, so there's been lots of progress, but no finishes. I need some finishes!

Speaking of finishes - I have two more projects to share with you. Actually, make that three. 

Here is the table runner that has been finished for several ...

Last night at dinner, DH asked me if I was going away in two days. I said yes. He then asked why I wasn't all in a tizzy and panicking about getting stuff done. Well, I have a new philosophy - what gets done gets done, and what doesn't? It didn't need to be done! 

Having said that, I did make good progress yesterday, and I've already been working for several hours this morning. I had a bizarre dream which prevented me from going back to sleep. Nothing to do with sewing or deadlines. What I need ...

There are days when I'm dangerous and should not touch anything. That's what happened already this morning, and it's only 6 AM. 

I saw a tiny spot that needed touching up on what I did yesterday. So I got things set up and pressed START, forgetting that I needed to check where it was stitching first. Like, how silly to trust everything to line up on its own? 

Now I have some fixing to do, but it can and will be done. I'm going to finish the rest of the stitching and then go back and ...

It was another good day in Studio B. And Brenda, I'm so excited that you are messing around with the Qult Block Wizard! I did NOT accomplish all I wanted. I knew there was going to be a snag somewhere. Things just take longer than planned, but that's OK. However, I had a very humbling moment. I was all excited about one of the samples - this is going to be perfect. And then BAM! It wasn't perfect. I am not sure I will camouflage what happened. I'm going to finish what I did by binding it ...

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 ...

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 ...

My brain always seems to be working overtime, and yesterday was no exception. I'm sure you all have your favorite people that you follow on Facebook or IG. You know the ones that are either building/renovating a house/castle/chateau or own pets (goldens, huskies, or other breeds with a few cats thrown in. And as they reach their various milestones, they post the numbers. 

But have you noticed how the number of content creators has exploded? Everyone thinks they can be a content creator because how hard can it be? And some of them are definitely better ...