What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

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

That would be a good question to use for those icebreakers. You know - the one that asks you to write something about you that no one knows! Wait for the story!

Maybe I'll consider some container gardening next year. Cherry tomatoes and maybe cucumber. I'll probably need to put that on my calendar because next spring I'll be excited about something else and forget until it's too late. 

But I agree, gardening and yard work are as hard or as easy as you want them to be. We went the easy route with everything being a ...

I goofed yesterday. I typed out the blog, and I SWEAR I clicked on the PUBLISH button, but I did not. It wasn't until someone alerted me around 10:30 that I realized it was still in DRAFT mode. There are days like that! 

Even though it was Monday Sewing, I got a lot done. I typically just sit and chat, but I have a lot to get done this week, so there is no time to waste. 

I don't really have a lot to share since it's all for upcoming classes, but needless to say, I ...

I chuckle at all the higher-toilet comments. This might be too much information, but I am not a tall person (66"), and I'm not sure what my inseam is - probably around 30". When I am sitting on the toilet, I need to be at a certain angle. I find the higher toilets are too high for my comfort. So I'm going to keep doing my standing squats so I can keep using the lower toilet! It's hilarious—but I can't use the higher toilet! How do vertically challenged people cope?  

Thanks for the recommendation of The ...

I have to laugh at the comments about the higher toilets. I asked DH about it, and I got a typical male response: nothing. How can they go through life with such a lack of enthusiasm??? Oh well -- each to their own. I have enough enthusiasm for two people!

I have good news! All the class emails went out yesterday. And YES, there were a couple of glitches because I used the same information email for all four classes, but changed the dates and links, etc. And of course, I forgot to remove ONE sentence from the last group I ...

Yes - I need to get that oven fixed so I can bake my own muffins. We eat more processed foods than I would like, but really it's not a lot. BUT -- I need to be more mindful and be more aware. I didn't have time yesterday to discover how much sugar is in my other two gummies. I'll investigate, and I MUST call about the oven!

I forgot to share this photo with you yesterday. 

The first row of Down on the Farm

During Monday Sewing, I managed to get the top row of Down on the ...

OH MY!!!! It's not that I don't want to take those meds -- that particular one is just not working in my schedule! BUT -- I did accommodate it yesterday by eating later, so I think that is the best temporary solution. And when I book the physical, I'll mention it to the doctor so she can prescribe the non-restrictive medication next time. I think she wanted to do another bone density so we can see what's happening as well. 

I got some emails yesterday about missing confirmation emails for upcoming classes, and will deal with that today ...

I know -- I know --- but that little plastic sunflower bag is so cute! It will not take long to finish it! And YES—I could make my own double-fold binding. I know! I'll check out the colors of the purchased first, and if I don't find anything, I'll make it! Sometimes my brain works in mysterious ways! 

I have a bunch of errands to do today, and one of them takes me right past the fabric store. I already checked my stash and couldn't find anything appropriate. 

I seem to have a thing for bags. While ...

It's my birthday! Another trip around the sun, and I'm still here to talk about it! I'm sure I say this every year, but one always reflects on past birthdays and remembers the special moments. And I have done many neat things on my birthday. Today? Just an ordinary day! Although I think I'll spend a good part of the day in the car as I have a few errands that must be done, and they are in opposite directions! But I must get them done. 

And I really must get some more paperwork done! 

I ...

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 ...

Thanks for all the comments. YES --- most of those exercises can be done while waiting for oatmeal to cook! I just need to remember to do them. The alternative will not be pretty, so it is a priority. I did some at the dinner table to demonstrate to DH how easy they are. I even told him that he should be doing them as well. He's in much worse shape than I, and it's simply because he does nothing. 

Brooke will definitely be part of this "recovery" mission, and I'll share with her next week. 

As for ...

We all had a decent night. Murphy is content to sleep outside - I just don't get that, but if it keeps her happy, then I'm willing to do it. But should she ever bark, I'll be like the Dad in The Night Before Christmas - "I awoke with a flash and flew to the window and tore open the sash!" That will be me! But so far, so good. And when I brought her in around 5 AM (that's kind of the witching hour for raccoons), she was happy to sleep in Lexi's bed, but when ...

Oh my --- what a crazy day! And I learned something. The Puzzles Canada store, which looks like a warehouse, is NOT the warehouse. There's another location that is the warehouse, and that is where I was supposed to be yesterday morning, NOT where I went. So after a bit of a wait because I was early, I figured it out! I arrived a bit later than I had planned and, of course, was annoyed with myself. I SHOULD have looked at the information sheet in the morning, which included the address. 

Who knew that a warehouse store would have ...

I didn't take a picture of the progress on my puzzle, but I'm working through the green forest! Are these pieces reflections, or are they the trees? Hmmm..... I started creating a section that wasn't attached to anything, since it was easier to work on. Then I discovered that my section was upside down and fit beautifully into the top part. 

I work on it for about an hour each evening. After that, it becomes too challenging for my brain, which is interesting, since there are other puzzles I could work on for hours. This one is ...

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 ...

Art is art! Oh my—I love Tammy's comment about the CN Tower from yesterday's blog. The person who criticized the block recognized it as the CN Tower. Mission accomplished!!! I NEVER think of the good comebacks at the time. 

Imagine if we were all quick on our feet and could put the "Karens" in their place immediately!! I have to work on those witty comebacks! 

And it was time for our UFO Club. The amount of UFOs that most of us have is obscene, but slow and steady, and we will whittle them away. That's my ...

 OH MY GOODNESS --- Someone mentioned in the comments that Southern California is already in fire season. Our thoughts are with you, and we hope there are no serious fires. We are so at the mercy of the weather in all we do and how we live our lives. 

I could go down that slippery slope of climate change, but I won't. All I have to do is think back on my short life to see that the weather is NOT the same as it was when I was a kid! 

Well, what a day it was yesterday. It was ...

After getting some feedback from people, I'm glad M is using the trim from her dress for the wedding. Someone else dismantled their lace wedding hat, so her daughter could use it to wrap her bouquet! It was worth the four hours to take it apart!

To answer the question about the community project quilts, the group of 11 I'm working on is NOT among the ones Diane made. Someone did me a favor and picked up a bunch of scraps I was using to make scrap quilts for more community project quilts. She was looking for scraps ...

I see I am not the only one who pushes the long arm to the limits! Yes—you can get away with minimal excess on the backing, BUT only if it is your quilt and you are the operator! It's fiddly, and you must babysit that thing along all the edges! And sometimes things happen, like when the pin (I no longer use clamps) that holds the elastic grip on the side gets caught on the machine bed. I had to do a wee bit of ripping yesterday. But not a big deal because I was standing there and ...