What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

I probably spend as much, if not more time, researching and messing about with Tech than I actually DO anything with it. I have become a serious Nerd about tripod ball heads, cold shoe mounts and “overhead rigs”. What this really means is suspending a camera above a table in order to get a birds-eye view of a project. The main issue is that even small cameras will weigh down articulated camera arms. My solution was to attach a straight arm to a pole clamped onto the table and use a tripod ball head to change the camera angle. 

I ...

One of the reasons that I like Amazon so much is that it is possible to order something, try it out then return it easily if it is not suitable. It is also a very good place to go and look at reviews for stuff. Youtube is also helpful – to a point. I find that there is so much information that after a while there are too many conflicting opinions. For some time I have been hankering after a better monitor for my Mac Mini desktop computer. I had a small, basic Dell but I needed to use external speakers ...

Well, well  --- another hurdle has been passed. There are two UFO sessions this morning, and will anyone be paying money? Late last night, I felt like the Little Engine that Could late last night and early this morning. "I think I can, I think I can." Then that changed to "I know I can. I know I can." You'll just have to wait until tomorrow to see if the little train pulled into the station - on time! 

When I went for my walk in the afternoon, I had the shock of my life. OK -- so I'm exaggerating, but ...

I don't even know where to start with my "joys" of technology. My biggest question is, AM I ALONE? Certainly, I can't be the only one who has issues with cell phones working or not working? 

The story began months ago when my phone started cutting out, resulting in many visits to various places. The result is that I paid the insurance deductible (I NEVER buy insurance, but this time I did), and I got a phone replacement. 

Yesterday was the day to transfer all the data to the new phone. Yep -- you know where this is going ...

I'm not out of the woods yet, but feeling better. Let's hope this doesn't develop into something serious -- I don't have time for serious! Lots to drink, lots of sleep -- that's my healing process!

It's probably too early to think about cleaning up, as most of you will be thinking about Christmas, but if you're starting to think about how to downsize your stash, here's an excellent and FAST way to make that happen. Comfy Cases, an organization that distributes colorful pillowcases to sick children, donated over 4,500 pillowcases across Ontario ...

Should I or shouldn't I? That's the big question right now about my phone. After our Monday sewing, I went to the mall to chat again with the Bell folks. I could get a new phone, but the S21 is obsolete, so that's not an option. This means I'd have to go with the S22, which requires a new case. Why? Because someone is going to make more money that way! The guy in the store even said so! That is very wasteful as my phone case is perfectly useful, but who will want it? 

They ...

It is a good job that I have been keeping on top of customer quilts because my workshop will be out of action until it dries out! We had a repeat of Storm Frank from 5-6 years ago which was meant to be a one in a hundred years type of weather event. Well, global warming is no myth here as extreme weather becomes increasingly normal. It had been raining persistently for a couple of days but eventually the ground was soaked, and the field drains overflowed. Before I knew it water was pouring in the door, seeping under the ...

November may be a bit dreary at times but it tends to be busy as Quilters want projects done in time for Christmas. I will be going to Norfolk for a week or so in December so I need to get all of the jobs done by then. Apart from going out to collect a second-hand mini Dyson hoover from a Facebook Marketplace seller, I have pretty much been in my workshop getting stuff done. 

Using zips to attach quilts on the longarm means I can get the next quilt ready to go and if someone comes in with a ...

There are two possibilities as to why I have been keeping busy so lately. Either I am getting everything done so I can have lots more time to create OR I am procrastinating – Big Time. I suspect it is a bit of both…

I spent a lot of time in my workshop, possibly because it is fractionally warmer out there than in an old house with heating that is not working. I managed to make headway with several customer quilts so there are none waiting to be done when I go down to Norfolk for Nella’s birthday ...

I have a class and a club today, and am I prepared? NO!! 

Why? Because I was doing something else yesterday instead of prepping. There is NO ONE to blame but myself. Part of what I was doing yesterday was sewing for today, and one of the presentations is completely done - I just have to load some pictures into the second presentation, and I have time for that later this morning. So while not 100% prepped, not far from being finished. 

In case you wonder how I can get so many steps in a day -- here's the thing. As ...

I have been totally neglecting my e-mail. Once I check it on my desktop computer first thing in the morning, I glance at it on my phone throughout the day, but I rarely respond to anyone. Then when I try to sync the desktop the following day, it takes a LONG time for the e-mails to go through, including the one where I've e-mailed myself the pictures for the blog. Sigh..............

It is supposed to sync automatically throughout the day, and not sure why that isn't happening anymore. I think I have figured out how to force it ...

OK --- so it's NEVER a good thing when you hear multiple helicopters flying overhead. When I took Murphy out for a walk, they were relatively close to the house. Why does everything happen when I walk her? 

So you can't see the helicopters in this photo, but I managed to snap the geese flying overhead! 

Geese in the sky

The keyboard is back! It needed new batteries as it's a BlueTooth device. But this is the bizarre thing. Look at the back where the batteries go.

Why is this wet?

For some reason, it became WET, and my first thought was that the batteries were leaking. But they didn't appear to be. So did I spill something on the surface? Nope -- I did not. So I don't know what the issue was. I took those batteries out and left the whole thing to dry thoroughly, and this morning, I put new batteries in, and I'm ...

It has been quite a week in the UK! Just 2 days after swearing in the new Prime Minister at Balmoral, The Queen died aged 96 in one of her favourite places. The News has been filled with royal tributes and trivia as we become the subjects of a King for the first time in 70 years. We went down to the gates at Crathes Castle to witness Queen Elizabeth II make her final journey via Edinburgh to London for her state funeral in a week. It was a surreal ...

Like many quilters, I am acutely aware that I accumulate far too much stuff that I don’t use so I sold my Bernette Funlock (coverstitch machine) on Ebay and sent it off to its new owner with a courier. The new owner tried it out but the handwheel was jammed. Since it worked perfectly before dispatch, I think it got dropped in transit. Now I have to waste time and do battle with the courier to get compensation. 

I was encouraged to purchase a gimbal for my camera by some enthusiastic YouTube videographers. I followed the tricky procedure to ...

For most of this week it has been scorching hot weather again and I don’t really like it! However, I bought an ice cream maker and had a go at making vegan ice cream. So far I have tried strawberry, cherry and blueberry. I am still working on the perfect recipe without dairy but I think the most successful one used vegan condensed milk. 

Nella was away in Orkney with her friend so I pretended I was on holiday and just pottered around. I filmed a couple of short overlocker demos and with my Editor in Chief away, I ...

 Just got a tip for moving rather than copying files. I'll check that out later today. It's super important to be MOVING files and NOT copying -- otherwise, you end up in a huge mess which is partially the problem I have with some of those photos. 

This is the status of my new hard drive. It's the D Drive in the photo, and it's almost 75% full - of PHOTOS. That's so silly, and I hope to make good headway in deleting want I don't want or need and then keep it neat and tidy ...

It was one of those days. I have an issue with my phone. I will be chatting away, and then suddenly, the person on the other end can't hear me. If I go outside, then they can hear me. However, on one call yesterday, even that didn't work. Last week, I was in the car and chatted for an hour, and no issues. So why is being in the house causing the problem? 

Is anyone else having this difficulty? I had been to the Bell store in the mall, where the people are really salespeople, and they had ...

I have spent many hours this week trying to work out a definitive method of placing borders onto a quilt using Bernina Qmatic. In fact, I have been like a dog with a bone testing things out. This is because I want to be able to explain how it is done for one of my Zoom pupils and I always make a summarising video with notes after the lesson. I have figured out how to get the designs to line up beautifully and ...

 I love it (NOT!) when the connection isn't good on a call -- "Can you hear me? Can you hear me now?" Well, that has happened mostly on Zoom calls. Now, however, it's happening on my cell phone. In the last several days, whenever I'm on a call IN THE HOUSE, I cut out, and I go outside to take the call. Not always practical. What is causing this issue? No idea, and it's going to be something challenging to diagnose. 

I would love to walk into the cell phone store and tell them my problem, and ...