What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

The book I finished yesterday (I couldn't help myself) is Picking Up the Pieces by J. B. Abbott. 

Jigsaw puzzle mystery

If you Google fiction jigsaw puzzle books, you'll find a few more. They are light fluff, like the knitting, scrapbooking, quilting murder mysteries, but it's good to read light fluff from time to time. It gives the brain a break!! I believe I ordered two more (physical) ones from the library!

What was the title of yesterday's blog? "If things aren't right, fix them now!" 

Well, I did it again. I had a few ...

OK -- I agree -- darts on a Barbie shirt? Not for the faint of heart! Heck - darts can be a challenge on a full-size garment! 

Well, there's no time to even consider sewing Barbie clothes. This feast-or-famine thing that happens in what I do can drive me nuts sometimes, and this is one of those times! Just prepping for one of these trips is crazy, and it really doesn't have to be. I just decide I don't have enough stuff, and then I go into panic-sewing mode. I must do this, and I must do that, and I ...

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 ...

 Oh- looks like I have a new book to add to my list! Thanks for the recommendations! I love the idea of setting a "moving deadline" to motivate you to declutter. 

We just want to make sure that the deadline is doable, or we will end up feeling worse. I would like my deadline to be the end of the year, and I want to get the garage done! It won't take long, and it would be so nice to get rid of all the rest of the detritus. There isn't much, but it's still annoying and ...

I accomplished everything I set out to do yesterday! Did I have high expectations? Not exactly, but I'm trying to get at least three things done. Three somewhat significant things, but that doesn't always work, so I'll take three minor things. 

The biggest issue is that DH and I have been out THREE nights in a row. OK -- that could be taxing on conversation for some couples, but not for us! I keep the chatter going, and I'm sure there are times when he wishes that I would just be quiet. But the conversation is just ...

I get spam in the blog comments all the time, and I try to delete it every day. They still come back, and it's amazing what triggers the comments. 

But yesterday I got spammed differently. And I "almost" got scammed. I received an email from an acquaintance, but she was also part of an organization I belong to. Since the information was vague, I asked for more details. The response came back with legitimate information, although still somewhat vague, and I will say that it crossed my mind why this person would contact me. 

Then I got an email ...

I made good progress on the paperwork yesterday, but I still have a lot to do. It involved several phone calls (yeah, for a cell phone that works), being on hold FOREVER, and still getting the wrong documents, so I had to start the process all over again. 

I had another task: preparing a document, and I got it done and sent it off. Then the recipient asked another question, and I had to take it one step further. That's on today's agenda.  

Then I wonder why I never make headway. However, I've moved the pile of ...

Look at me—behind the times when it comes to a digital wallet. I thought it was only for credit cards and things like that, but digital tickets? Who knew? My "tech" guru did NOT tell me that. But then, he's not really a guru. I'm not sure I'll use it for boarding passes, because I can check my upgrade status through the boarding pass, so I'll keep using the airline app. 

I wonder if you do get an upgrade, which is usually issued about ten minutes before boarding, if that would automatically get transferred to ...

I would say that the bikes in the hotel the night before were very likely stragglers from the World Championships. Two of them ended up on my shuttle to the hotel, and let's just say they were NOT casual tour cyclists. The boxes the bikes were packed in were larger, and they had bags with extra wheels and Red Bull labels on their packs. Yep—these were NOT your ordinary tour cyclists! Good call!!

And yes—there are way too many creepy coincidences. How does that happen? 

Speaking of sleep - I had a good chuckle yesterday morning on the ...

 Although yesterday was our Monday sewing day, I didn't spend much time with the group. I had a doctor's appointment. Why? 

Well, I think I cracked/dislocated/broke a rib. I know—what a silly thing to happen. But the way it happened really worried me. I was at the physio, and I was on my tummy and getting some compressions on my back and POP - I heard something, and I felt something so strong that my leg flew up in the air as a reflex. 

I thought nothing of it until later, when the pain would NOT ...

Oh my gosh --- such great comments! Try to go back to yesterday to read them. Amazing how sometimes the husband is the hanger-on and sometimes it's the wife. But whoever it is—there is an important message: if we save something because we are afraid of breaking it, we'll never use it. If it breaks? Who cares! It is an object! An object that no one wants once we are gone. That is something that so many people don't seem to comprehend. That item will unceremoniously go into the thrift shop, where someone might buy it for ...

I really must learn the parts of the body! A quick update on Dad. He's been discharged without emergency surgery. The blockage is (was) in his neck. I don't know the details, but I will find out more later today, since I've been running around the house getting ready to get on a plane in a couple of hours!

But wait - let's back up! 

I decided to go to the quilt retreat as I had stuff to drop off to others. One must keep that Pony Express alive. I don't think I brought anything home ...

All the Zooms are done for a few days, and ALL the follow-up is done!! That's a first for me. Cleaning up the presentations, writing out the email, double-checking distribution lists, and so much more! 

But it's done! I wish I could say the same for my state of mind! I'm in a bit of a flux this morning. No news on Dad - well, the news is he hasn't had surgery yet, and I'm not sure if they will deem it safe to do that surgery on him at his age. 

Hopefully we will get ...

Today, all is revealed, as there were several mysteries at play. 

First—the fabric with the quilt blocks I bought the other day is part of an Anna Marie Textile (division of Northcott) collection. It's called Piecework, and it's not new - it's from 2025. See how often I get out? 

Here's a reminder of the fabrics; you can check the link above for the rest. As mentioned, Ye Olde Fabric Shoppe had all or most of them. 

Piecework collection by Anna Marie Textiles

Second mystery—the darn storage for my email. While I didn't get ...

 ACK --- that's why pictures tell a thousand words! To clarify the pressing, here are the tips again. 

Here are a few tips

Step one is to warm up the fabric, so take the two ...

Do you ever feel super content and just happy? For many years, I sometimes thought I didn't want everything to be perfect because then something bad would happen. That's a pretty common thought. People feel they are not worthy of such happiness. 

Well, I have my unhappy moments, trust me! But overall, I have lots to be thankful for; I have loads to look forward to each day, and I actually look forward to my routine, knowing that at such a time, I can enjoy reading my book, or working on the puzzle, or whatever is on the ...

I'm so glad to see that it wasn't just me who saved their autograph book. I wish I had more autographs, but I wasn't the most popular girl at school, and being painfully shy, I wasn't about to ask people to write in the book. 

I was going to say that those books can likely be tossed upon our death. But WAIT --- I would hope that M would value the handwritten notes from the family at least. Maybe not my friends, but family? I'm not sure that my mom or dad wrote in it, but ...

Yep—all three presentations are ready to go. All the sewing was completed, the pictures were loaded and sorted, the reminder emails went out, and all is good in the teaching world. 

It was a fun day, and it was so nice to just sit and sew. I had to take pictures, mind you, but still, it was fun to listen to my audiobook and sew. I had to backtrack a lot because I missed part of the storyline. I really need to connect my new noise-canceling headphones. The open earbuds suck for listening to audiobooks while sewing. 

I can ...

OK—let's see if the pictures load this morning. 

Success!!!! It took a wee bit longer than usual, but that's OK - the pictures are loaded!!!

I don't know what is happening with the squirrels, but they seemed to be having a party on our front step. The funny thing is that there are NO oak trees anywhere near this area. They are in the back in the forest, but not in front. Hmmm—someone called a party, and no one told me? 

The morning after a wild squirrel party