What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Despite the fact that I had that Facebook Live yesterday and things had to get organized for that, I took time to clean out a drawer in the filing cabinet. OK, so I didn't finish, but I made a good effort. 

I was only going to pull a few files and then decided to take them all out. 

The empty drawer

There are four drawers, and I picked one. The files got scattered onto the kitchen table. 

The kitchen table as the sorting station

Years ago, someone told me we should schedule ME days in our calendar. Those would be days when you get to do things for yourself. I've tried but have been unsuccessful, and while yesterday wasn't really an ME day, I didn't sew and ran around for ME.

I made a list of things that needed to be done—emails that needed to be responded to and many other things. I went to bed last night with two things left on the list. Both are responding to emails, so I can do that while I'm away. Yep ...

I feel like I'm back in a marathon—there is so much to do, so many time limits and things take longer than planned! 

However, I got a few more things done, but not as much as I would have liked. I'm afraid that today is going to be eaten up with computer work, as I have a lot of emails that need to be sent and that need to be done today. 

I've mentioned missing things from time to time. One thing has been missing for years. It's an embroidery file I purchased many years ...

Can you explain this to me? 

I spotted this when I was on my way home from one of the morning walks. 

A friendly dog walk? I think NOT!

I'm almost giddy with delight this morning. A far cry from last week!

Why? I have the house to myself today, except for the girls, but they're OK. Don't get me wrong, as DH is extremely self-sufficient and doesn't need constant attention, but I'm perfectly OK if he's away. He even offered to buy me groceries yesterday! It's raining outside, so there is no guilt about being in the garden and no danger of wanting to sit in the gazebo! Even better? While walking yesterday, I glanced at my calendar to see what ...

I cannot say enough about focusing! WOW—I surpassed my expectations as to what I could get done in a day. I had hopes, but knowing my history and how long it takes to do anything in the quilt world, I kept revising Plan B in my head in case I couldn't meet my goal. 

Well, I'm shocked at what I managed to do in two days. I had other things to do during the day, so the day wasn't completely devoted to the Tequila Lime project. 

I can't share it with you yet as our ...

It's incredible what we can accomplish when we focus. And with all the travel and so many things on the go, it's been hard to concentrate on my sewing projects. 

After getting some paperwork done in the morning and the girls both had to go to the vet (ka-ching!), I was ready to buckle down to work. Something I hadn't done in weeks.  

First, let's talk about the vet visit. 

Both of them were extremely excited to be in the car, as they do not usually go anywhere in the car. Of course, they were happy ...

Yesterday, I read a great article about Pet-Valu in the Globe and Mail. It was from the Report on Business magazine. 

Article on our pets

Holy!!! The amount of money that we spend on our pets is insane. OK—my pets do not get all the fancy food and treats. Do not tell them that they are missing out on all this crazy stuff. By the way, they know something is not right this morning as they are on either side of my chair as I write, as close to me as they can get!

I have a meeting today ...

I chuckled this morning when I remembered the title of yesterday's post—Writing Quilt Patterns. During the Virtual Retreat, we discussed how some patterns are good and some are notoriously bad. Why is that? Do these people not have pattern testers? Do they not get feedback from their audience? 

Most designers will have changes (for free) on their websites, but one designer (I won't mention the name) is famous for writing confusing patterns. And then, I guess once they get enough bad feedback, they reissue the pattern with the same name but a different version—i.e., Backpack ...

There is one area of my life that won't get cluttered with digital stuff, and that's Zoom. I think I have 5 GB of "free" storage, enough to store a month's worth of video recordings—about 12 hours or something like that. I get emails from Zoom if the account is getting close to full. Do I want to buy storage? No, and then I go in and delete the older videos! Yeah, me! One area that will never become cluttered! They will shut down the ability to record if you go over! Or so they say ...

I'm back!!! I finally had a proper sleep within the right time frame, meaning I got to sew this morning. Does it feel strange? It's totally weird! Let's hope that things are back on track because I have lots that I want to do. 

I hope not to offend anyone with this next sentence, so forgive me if I do. WAIT -- before I say that, let's say this has happened to all of us! Most of us anyway! But hopefully, after the first time, it will never happen again. 

That is the text message (or e-mail ...

About that shelving - it's still in the garage. At the warehouse, we attempted to release the shelves with a mallet, but the little things that hold the shelves in place are NOT the little black plastic ones I've got on my other shelving. These are sort of rubberized WHITE ones. One of the guys told me in his experience that once these heavy-duty shelves are together, they are NOT coming off. I might try the wood and hammer method, but getting two guys to move it might be faster. I can't deal with it right now, so ...

The Zoom sessions for the "day job" are complete! For the remainder of the year, we'll be doing in-person events, and I have some booked near me! So watch for events at Sew Productive in Milton and Thimbles Quilts and Sewing in Windsor (Lasalle). They are going to be fun and informative, and I've been making NEW samples. 

That leaves one in-person event today (all packed) and two Zooms to prepare for tomorrow. The final writing assignment is almost edited, and I'm doing well. I'm a little behind schedule, but it's doable to complete it ...

I have ONE Zoom left for my day job! My, how time flies when you're having fun! There is lots of stuff to put away, but I don't have time to deal with it today. 

I still have an in-person event this weekend for anyone who has recently purchased a Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic 3, and there are two Zooms on Sunday. All the material is prepared for everything; it's just a question of putting it into a presentation or pulling out the appropriate equipment from the jumble!

Speaking of jumbles, I mentioned that I found a ...

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 ...

Tammy hit the jackpot!!! She got both quilts right!!! 

Here are the two quilts that I'm contemplating teaching in the fall. Now, I'll only teach one or the other, but not both - at least not simultaneously. I'm crazy, but not that crazy. 

I have a few votes for one and some for the other - if you have comments, you can email me or comment on the blog. elainetheriault@gmail.com

Look who I spotted on the morning walk. Yep, after all that rain the night before, there were worms and a snail on the sidewalk! It seems ...

Today, there are two presentations, and both are as ready as they will be! There is so much to share with the groups, and I can only hope the message gets across. I get some questions and know that some are getting it, and well, I need to review for a few! The biggest issue with EVERYONE in any class is STABILIZER!!!! It's not that hard!!!! 

But all is good. Then I have nothing on the agenda until Monday morning, but I have eleven Zooms next week, one in-person event, Monday sewing, and a meeting. And that's the ...

While I don't have a lot to show for what happened yesterday, I did get stuff done! That seems to happen a lot these days! I have two classes to prep for this weekend, and I'm at a local store teaching all day, so my time has been spent prepping for that. 

For the life of me, I cannot find ONE sample that I'd really like to have today. What the heck could I have done with it? Sigh!! The store might have the same sample, so I'm HOPING! 

Yesterday was all about the weather - it ...

I had packed most things in the car the night before, so there was very little to pack in the morning. The girls and the boy were NOT happy to see me packing. They knew that there would be NO walks this week. Oh dear, I'd bring them if I could, but it's impossible. They'll survive, as DH is there to put them out. I'm sure they all love that arrangement. 

The roads were good, which is quite different from two years ago! We couldn't even get out of the driveway on the way to ...