What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

I sure wish I were playing car bingo yesterday because I saw lots of stuff on my drive to and from Cannington. 

First, I want to say that this guild is small, but it's MIGHTY. The number of quilts that came in for show and tell and were then donated to their Outreach program was astounding! 

Some members were given blocks or panels and "had" to make something from them, and they were outstanding! 

And they very warmly received me, and I had oodles of great feedback. Of course, I never seem to have business cards with me. So ...

I laugh about the subwoofer! It would be in my STASH room if it was bolted to the floor beneath the family room. It's going to stay where it is - behind the sofa. But it makes sense - it's a SUB woofer, and it's just an ugly-looking box. I've no idea why, for 20 years - it had to sit front and center in our family room. But that's a thing of the past. 

And if all goes well, the old TV and surround sound will be picked up in an hour! I have a few other ...

WOW --- Rose didn't even need 20 questions! One guess! I'm impressed and how the heck did she zero in on that? Check out the comments - I won't say here in case you're still guessing. 

It's good that I'm not afraid of a blank page, also known as "blank page syndrome." I face a blank page every morning when I write the blog, and sometimes, it's very early in the morning, and sometimes, it's shortly after getting out of bed. I don't think I was much of a writer when I was ...

 So, did you have a chance to read the 50 Ways to Keep a Quilter Happy while on Vacation? I had a blast writing that series, and my mind is spinning to develop a new, fun theme. 

If you didn't check out Numbers 50 - 49 and 48, here's the link again. 

And here are the next three. Numbers 47, 46, and 45. 

Two more presentations are finished for this week. The Machine Embroidery series, honoring National Embroidery Month, is winding down. I have a few more this week, and most of the weekend is free, so I have ...

 AHA -- we have it from a produce manager that bananas come in the box in bunches, NOT singles. So, can you tell me why people remove one banana from the bunch and leave it behind? If I were a produce manager, that would drive me BANANAS. I would stand there and watch the consumer and then ask them why they did that. If you want five bananas, pick up a bunch with five; don't pick up one with six and remove one. That's just silly. I still think the grocery store should give us a discount on those ...

I must start going to bed earlier (at my usual time) instead of later because my body wants 8 hours of sleep. So I'm losing my two productive morning hours because I'm going to bed later and getting up after 8 hours! I will say that when I go to sleep, I'm out like a light, and I have never slept so well! 

I had two big adventures yesterday, which didn't allow me to touch much in Studio B. I had to move stuff off a table so we could work, but it still looks like ...

I think I'm back on track with the sleep patterns despite being awakened by Murphy at 2 AM. I have no idea what her problem was, but a simple bark was all it took to wake me up. I did go back to sleep, so all is good!

What a day yesterday was. The weather was amazing! The sun was out, the temperature was in the double digits, and what can I say? The gazebo beckoned. 

I sat in my chair and read for a bit, napped for a bit, and just enjoyed the day. It was glorious. Even ...

I spent the entire morning in front of the computer. My entire morning consisted of about 2 hours as I had to have lunch early because of a dentist appointment at Noon. In those two hours, I cranked out a lot of e-mails, but I'm behind, and I still have homework to send out. Well, it's incredible how much time all those little details take. 

I'll just keep plugging away at it, and as the classes are coming to a close for this year, hopefully, those follow-ups will get less and less, but then I have to ...

 Yes - Christmas is coming, and well, it's the season for many things. I'm not anti-Christmas, but I'm very anti all the hoopla surrounding Christmas. I am really anti to the COMMERCIALISM of what Christmas has become. If I say my real reasons for these thoughts, I will come off as Scrooge, so I have to think of a clever way to phrase it. 

It has something to do with political correctness and people of different faiths, and I'll leave it like that. 

But what I really meant when I wrote that title was the commercials. Yep ...

Have you ever lost things in your house? Of course -- we have all lost something because we put them in a safe place, and where that safe place is remains a mystery! I keep saying that I'm starting a list of all the lost things because when I find them, I get the satisfaction of crossing them off a list! Because I can't remember what is lost and then found or is still lost. And do I have anything else lost in my house? That's why a list would be great!

While I was at the retreat ...

Wow -- back in the saddle this morning. I have two presentations to prepare; of course, nothing was done last night! 

But there is good news - my two sample suitcases were sitting in the hall waiting to be unpacked. I was missing some samples, and the store where I was sure they had disappeared had checked and could not find them. I could not find them in my suitcases. Guess what? When I unpacked -- there they were! How that happened, I've no idea. I need to pack my suitcases in the future to know where everything is. 

Shoot -- I thought ...

Sounds like I'm not the only one traveling! Just go with the flow -- life is too short to get upset at anything! 

I was hoping to get more done yesterday, but that didn't happen. I got a quilt loaded on the long arm and hoped to get it quilted, but I couldn't muster the energy. I was going to do paperwork, and that wasn't happening either. So then, at a very early time this morning, I was awake and got some paperwork done. 

The problem is that I'm back on a plane tomorrow, and there ...

 I'm up EARLY  -- the blog post should be on time!

I had two more successful events yesterday, and those attendees went home knowing a lot more about what they could do with their PFAFF sewing machines and loads of inspiration for making quilts. I came away with a list of samples I want to make to improve the presentation! 

Thank you to Patrick and Peachtree Quilt Shop for a fantastic couple of days! Loads of fun, and I got to meet some new people. 

So where am I next? The next stop (work-wise) is Quilt Canada in Halifax. So ...

I hope I didn't upset anyone working from a kit or duplicating a quilt exactly like the original. There is NOTHING wrong with doing it. I remember a speaker at a guild who said that if you are working from a kit, you're NOT a quilter. Or was that a panel that she referred to? YIKES!!!! Anyway, both are harsh. Kits are VERY economical to use, easy for shopping, and if that works for you, then go for it. 

I'm trying to say there's so much opportunity to step out of the box and make that ...

I feel like a slug this morning. Why? Oh - I slept last night, but I went to bed about one hour later than I normally do. And when that alarm went off at ridiculous o'clock this morning, I just said NO - I'll wait until the second alarm. Even then, I still didn't want to get up! 

But I'm better now that I've been moving around a wee bit. And what's with the temperature? It's COLD. I did start wearing long pants earlier this week. And I'll definitely have a jacket on to ...

I asked the mothers of my 7 grandchildren about Christmas, and got requests for doll clothes, pajama pants, and nightgowns. Of course!

First request was from the oldest granddaughter. She wanted Christmas pjs and a volleyball uniform for her 18″ doll. In searching online for what the uniform would look like, I noticed long sleeves and a tighter fit all around. Her school’s colors are red and black but I could not find a photo of the girls’ volleyball team online. I made the uniform out of 2 new-looking sports shirts I found at thrift stores.

I used my ...