What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 I LOVE it!! I'm not the only person who did not read the complete Harry Potter series when it was first published. I knew people waiting at the bookstore for midnight when the books were released! I'm never that crazy about getting a book on the release date. I like the anticipation of being able to read it when I want. No one has ever told me what happened, and I'm good with that! 

Speaking of books to read, I came across a 6.5 book for Louise Penny. It's part of the Gamache series. I ...

Where did yesterday go? After Monday's sewing, I went for a walk, then got stuck on the computer with the support team from Microsoft. 

Can you tell me why this happened? My e-mail got stuck on my desktop but worked fine on my laptop and phone. I got an error message to delete some files because I exceeded my limit. OK -- I get that, but then I couldn't delete anything. So why is that? And why was it working fine on the other devices? 

I never got an answer to any of those questions, but they did something ...

It's funny how you never hear of something, and then suddenly, it's everywhere! And that's why I love the blog and my sewing group. I have learned many things, and it's nice to know you're not alone. Case in point -- toe stretchers. 

I had never heard of toe stretchers other than the ones used if you were getting your toenails done, and they use them to keep your toes from touching freshly painted nails. But it turns out they are more than that and are actually good for your feet. Who knew? 

At this point ...

I'm not the only one who got advice to use toe stretchers. One of the ladies in the Monday Sewing group uses socks with built-in toe stretchers. They are called toe alignment socks; I had never seen them before. Read this article on that web page to see why you should get something to realign your feet. 

And if you look online, there are all kinds of toe stretchers. I bought the first pair I found, but I'll look for something different for the next set (if I need one). I like mine, but they may be too ...

In my forced time away from home, I brought my lightest, smallest sewing machine so I would be able to create. I bought the Brother PE400D (home embroidery) machine in 2003. I know 20 years is a long time for an electronic machine to keep working well, but I really did hope for more.

I’ve had trouble with it in the past. The LCD screen needed calibrating at one time, and I took it to an authorized repair spot. The fellow looked it over and said he needed to do some research. He ended up calling me after about ...

There was a major Bernina Q-matic update out this week so I sorted out the latest version onto my system as soon as it came out. I walked a pupil through the same process but we ran into some difficulties, despite following the instructions. The issue turned out to be that you have to use an under 8GB usb stick which nobody has these days. We figured it out in the end. It looks like there are quite a few changes which I will have to get to know and possibly make some instructional videos to explain them. 

I had ...

When I was editing my latest Q-matic videos last weekend my computer told me that its memory was full and so was its external hard drive. Immediately I started deleting stuff that I thought I did not need anymore but it made no difference so I contacted Apple support. After wasting several hours trouble-shooting it was deemed necessary to take it to the Genius Bar at the Apple Store. I spent 6 hours there on Monday! It turned out that it had got clogged up with too many backups so the computer got wiped then reinstalled. Hopefully everything was saved ...

It has been a snowy week which is a bit of an affront for March but not unusual for NE Scotland. I wrapped up in thermals and woolies because we had no heating (again) at the start of the week and it was actually warmer in my fridge-like workshop. After all of the excitement of the Glasgow exhibition I made myself catch up on admin which I swear takes me 20 times longer than the average person;)

Suddenly, I found that some quilt ideas were bubbling to the surface. I wrote some notes about the ideas, realising that I probably ...

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