What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

OOOPS --- yes -- I knew I misspelled WAZE and didn't have time to go back and check it. It is WAZE!!!! 

But here's the thing --- I used Google Maps yesterday to get to my meeting even though I knew where it was, but I like using it to give me the ETA (estimated time of arrival). I used it there and back home. When I left the house, it estimated I would arrive at 8:11, and I arrived exactly when it said I would, even though there was traffic. It had precalculated the time I would arrive BASED ...

Well, that was interesting to get connected this morning. It took a very long time to connect the laptop to the Wi-Fi, and I ended up having to use my phone as a hotspot! Even then, it took a considerable amount of time to make things happen. Interesting because I don't ever remember having difficulty when I was away! But I am in a remote (OK -- remote to me) part of Ontario!

Let me start by saying that over the years, I've heard many good things about the Buckhorn Quilt Show. The venue, the organization, the quilts, and ...

Yesterday was an "interesting" day. I was all full of pep and ready to go, and then this happened. 

I had my quilt on the long arm, I set the pattern, and all was good. Then I was watching the second row stitch out, and it looked AWFUL. Somehow the lines didn't match up, and I suspect that at one point the machine "jumped" or was bumped or something. Touch STOP immediately and contemplate the situation. Could I live with it? And sadly, the answer was NO. 

It took me about five hours to have it all ripped out ...

I was never a person to take supplements. What do I need those for when I am eating "whole" foods? I've come to realize that unless I grow whole foods in my nonexistent garden, I'm probably not getting all the nutrition I need. Additionally, our bodies change as we age and are no longer able to produce the same supplements we need. And that whole bone density thing. So I take Vitamin D and Calcium for that. The vitamin D was on the "order" from the doctor, and the Calcium thing is mine. I take a multi-vitamin, and ...

OH -- I'll have to review the supplement comments tomorrow. It's spin class day and I'm a bit short on time! 

I had to laugh, though, at one comment because they caught me! The quilt I showed you the back of yesterday is a very OLD UFO. If memory serves me correctly, it was started in 2000. And YES -- someone knew which quilt it was! I like to choose something for the back that relates to the front, and this one is no exception. 

After the quilt hangs at the Buckhorn Quilt Show this coming Friday and Saturday ...

I’ve been working on a quilt that began as a BOM at my local quilt shop, but. halfway through the monthly releases, the shop gave everyone the option of going ahead and getting all of the rest of it right away. I took them up on it, as I do prefer to work on a […]

And I am not talking about Click Buy Now! (Well, maybe…)

Hear ye! Hear ye! Creative Spark’s 2025 Embroidery Extravaganza arrives Thursday July 17, 2025 to a computer near you! This live event features:Sue SpargoLaura WasilowskiBetz White Anne OliverChristen BrownLauren WeberMichelle StaubNicole VogelsingerSharon Boggon &Cassandra Diasgiving their wit, wisdom & ways to incorporate embroidery into your quilts or veer off your quilty path and embrace a… Continue reading Creative Spark Embroidery Extravaganza!

Thanks for all the insights into retiring! I think I will be one of those who phase out of things rather than quit cold turkey. So, I will continue to look at my calendar and evaluate the deadlines, and then I'll go from there. 

What I want is more time to do my things! I have many UFOs that I want to work on. There is more decluttering, and I want to explore some creative stuff, but I don't have the time or the energy after the necessary stuff is done. That's just in case you're ...

I was at the gym early this morning, and one thought came to mind. This is working! My range of motion is so much better, I'm shocked. I never would have thought it would come back so quickly. I'm not pumping iron five days a week to make that happen, but a couple of good stretching sessions each week have given me a new outlook on life! I'm hooked. 

What is shocking is how and when I lost this mobility. I used to be able to stand on one foot and put on my socks and shoes ...

 —the first finish of 2025 AND finished on Worldwide Quilting Day.

Goodness, where does the time go? It’s February March and I have a finished quilt to share with you! And talk about uplifting—let’s just say with all the happenings in our family circle and the world, it’s nice to see something get accomplished, although I honestly thought by this time I would have at least two quilts done. Anyone who truly knows me is laughing their butts off reading that statement. 

I started this quilt in 2013 when our youngest, David, said he would like ...

Oh my—what a treat yesterday was! I had nothing on the agenda, and I could do what I wanted when I wanted. I certainly needed that mental break. I haven't even cleared up the tables in the film area yet. 

A bit of tidying needs to be done

I'll do that later today, or maybe I'll do it during Monday's Sewing and set up for the final presentation. Yeah! Then, I think April will be very quiet except for my "personal" classes and a couple of challenges I must work on. A few quilts need ...

A couple of weeks ago, I showed you the beginning of this honeybee theme table runner in a Sunday Chat. When we left off, I had put the borders on and was ready to quilt it. Loading it on the longarm, I dug through my pantographs for something that would look like the flight path of a bee.

This one seemed to be good, some swirly parts with a pointy change of direction.

Quilting was done in white Glide thread with Bottom Line in the bobbin.

When I got to the bottom of the table runner, I put a strip ...

OH my -- I always get a chuckle from the comments, and I need to get back to answering them individually. I'm not a math nerd, so I don't calculate how much batting cutoffs get used in a year, but it is shocking when I see people throw those batting bits away. I "glue" them together for smaller projects like table runners, bags, placemats, etc. I am working my way through the batting cutoff closet, and once April is here, I plan to be on the long arm to try and finish up some community projects where I use ...

Regarding yesterday's post about changing needles, I wanted to add something. The "rule of thumb" is to change the needles after 6 - 8 hours of sewing. But what exactly does that mean? Some sewists could be sewing (needle moving up and down, NOT just in the sewing room) 6 - 8 hours in one day. For others, that might be several days or weeks. 

The guideline I use is to wind 4 or 5 bobbins, and when they are done, it's time to change the needle and CLEAN the bobbin case. You'll have to listen to your machine ...

OMG -- did you see the exercise Elle recommended for strengthening the legs? Squats! I hate squats. Well, I hate them because my legs are so weak. But she's right! In the short time that I've become more aware of my situation and doing something about it, I feel much stronger. Not using hands to get out of a chair or using hands to sit down. Let the legs do the work - they are quite capable! People -- we do not want to walk with canes or walkers or, god forbid, we'll need someone to help us get out ...

I am always looking for ways to make things easier and less expensive. With embroidery, especially with the new machines having enormous embroidery frames, the amount of waste in stabilizers is huge. I recently told a friend about this tip, and did some photos of my latest project to share it with you. The tip involves using a sticky stabilizer, not a fusible. You can use either a plain sticky tear away, or use the one I like best, which is Sulky’s Sticky Fabri-Solvy, a sticky water-soluble stabilizer. Just press it onto your fabric on the wrong side.

Hoop ...

Oh my—I'm rereading these blog posts about keeping a quilter happy while on vacation, and I love this one! It has lots of tips for keeping everyone happy. 

I think I've discovered why those links didn't work last week. When a link comes up and I copy it, I need to ensure the "https:/" is included, or it will redirect back to my blog. How do I know that? I'm experimenting! 

Today is election day in our province. For anyone eligible to vote, please get yourself out there and vote. And for those who think ...

This past week, I have been on a mission to find some small projects that our guild area group can make for our shop at the show next year. Knowing it will take some time to find the right ideas, I’ve been looking for quick projects with pizzazz. Thank you, dear readers, for your input on this subject some days ago. Your comments were immensely helpful, and combined with my research, I am looking for specific things in a project. I think that items with embroidery will do well, as many sewists do not embroider by machine. So something ...