What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

I think we can all agree that quilting benefits our mental well-being. For some, it provides a widespread social network through an in-person guild, classes, online, social media, etc. Many of us have met and maintained long-time friendships through quilting. 

If you moved, what would be the first thing you would do? Well, maybe not the first, but you would check out the local quilt stores, guilds, and sewing groups. 

And yes - I get that there are issues - guilds can be "unfriendly" because people have their cliches, teachers, or store owners may be less than friendly, but for the most ...

Another finish. I finished a quilt last summer which I started about 15 years ago. This UFO was from a guild brown bag block challenge. I selected fabrics for the challenge and placed them in a brown paper bag. Each month, our group exchanged bags, rotating through each member. While I stitched blocks for other […]

 First - the January completion.  This is the top I pieced in the fall up in Tobermory.  It's ready for a label & the washing machine.

I'm very happy with the way it turned out.  And I used a new-to-me panto which I'm also pretty happy with.

WAIT—do I need to absorb the water I'm drinking? I need to get more information on that! Thanks, Linda, for that tip. I will check it out. Yesterday, I drank three containers, equivalent to 12 glasses of water. 

I think I can get into the habit, and I think I'm good with three containers a day. I just looked at the salt thing online and must do more research. How does one determine if you retain (and how much) that water to stay hydrated or just need to be in your body to flush stuff out? Questions ...

Oh my gosh -- two excellent stories about using the good stuff or getting rid of it - read the comments from yesterday! And yes - it was a thing to pick that china pattern! But so much of it never got used. I'm excited to see Tammy using it every day, and I bet you think of your grandmother! 

So here I am in the big room at Springhouse Retreat and blog writing. I've been up for a while but haven't started sewing yet as I have some work to get done. That was a challenge as I'm ...

 Are you moving during the day? I confess I did something I hadn't done for a long time yesterday: I read almost an entire book in one day. However, I can no longer sit in a comfy chair for long with this silly leg issue. By comfy, I mean the chairs in our living room. Even stretched out, they don't work. Although I sat there long enough to attract the girls, and they put on a show for me. 

MOM - can you see us?

Excellent news this morning! Yesterday was the winter solstice, meaning the sun rises a little earlier each day! I also have to be thankful that I live south of where my parents live, so the sun rises earlier than in Saskatchewan!

While I had "stuff" to do yesterday, I took the day off and sewed all day! I'm working on my UFO, which is due tomorrow, but despite having a specific goal, I'm doing something else—the same project but another part. You'll see it after I show it to the group tomorrow. All I can say ...

I am whispering this so as not to appear to be gloating, and I certainly do NOT want to jinx myself. I managed to stay in bed until it was time to get up! I woke up a couple of times but was able to get back to sleep. Yes, there is still pain while lying down, but I've found a way to sleep by putting a pillow under my leg to elevate it slightly. YES - I tried that before, but it did nothing at the time. I can only say that waking up with a good night's ...

My Words for the past Years

2023 - Limitless

2020 - Roaring Twenties

2019 - Adventures

2018 - Control

2017 - Balance

2016- Health

2015- Opportunity

2014- Organisation

2013- Peace

2011- Frugal

2010- Clutter

This year I have decided why wait until the New Year to get started on a new word for the new year.  I always plan my quilty year between Christmas and New Year.  But not this time.  Whilst I am having a massive clear out due to some house renovations, I am reviewing my huge pile of UFOs. And I mean huge!  I am well into double figures, could even be ...

The days get shorter and the nights longer until Winter Solstice in December.  I do not like this time of year. I hate the nights drawing in as well as having to close the curtains and switch on the lights in the late afternoons. I seem to hibernate until Winter Solstice. To keep me for hibernation and procrastinating, I plan to finish as any UFOs as possible. 

Between Christmas and New Year every year I make a list of all the ...

So, if you signed up for Dear Jen (as of 8 AM yesterday morning), the Saturday Sampler (BOTH at Thimbles and Things), or Crossing the Finish Line (Hobby Horse), you should have received a confirmation email from me with all the details. 

If you signed up yesterday for either of the two classes at Thimbles and Things, I need to retrieve your information from the website and add you to the distribution list. So be patient. 

If you are in Spice Market, the email goes out today. The admin side of classes is not my strong point! But no worries ...

 This one has been a very long time coming. I started it in June and I thought it would be finished easily and quickly over the summer but that didn't quite happen... I was working on it when travelling when I realise that I had cut 2 of the yellow triangles (around the middle square) too big so the  unit with the 2 blue triangles + yellow square couldn't be attached properly. I had to unpick and recut the triangles before sewing them back. Of course, this set me back for a while (I hate unpicking!) but I finally ...

What a surprise when the girls and I took our morning walks to find this. 

The path is paved!!!

The pavement ...

Not much for sewing for quite a while but this week has been a little better. And I al happy to report that Dear Jane block F1 - Big Top - is now finished with sashing now. 

And it's even attached to the rest of the row! I am now at 143,8,0,3032 - 16 more blocks to go.

Now onto F8.

Linking to Design Wall Monday.

Céline 

Today is our last day at the retreat (Springhouse Retreat), and then I'm home for 3 1/2 weeks before I need to go anywhere. I'm almost giddy knowing that! The vertigo is still there but very mild. I can feel it on the periphery of my brain, if that makes sense. So, I'll look at those exercises when I'm home to try and get rid of it completely. 

Yesterday was one of those days! I was having an issue with a tool that I needed to finish my blog posts, and my ingenuity solved it ...

The vertigo is better and seems only to affect me if I bend down. My world no longer spins behind closed eyes while lying in bed. But I need to watch some of the links/sources you are providing. It's one of those things—do I want to cut into my sewing time or watch the video? How silly of me! My health should be a priority!

OK—so I had some real sewing at the treat yesterday. I had gotten to a point on my QUILTsocial posts that I couldn't progress further without another tool, which I ...

 E13 is finished and attached to row E, finally! I had planned to sew it while on holiday over a month ago and progressed it well until I realised I had cut 60° angles instead of 45° for the last 4 pieces for each sides of the outside triangles. It took very little time to draw the correct angle and cut the pieces back but here we are, I only finished the block this morning by the pool while we stayed overnight at a spa hotel.

I modified the block a little compared to the book, it has 26 pieces ...

 This block definitely felt like being in jail... so many tiny pieces and so many opportunities for issues with all the lines to align. I really tried my best but the block is not perfect...BUT "finished is better than perfect" so I will learn to live with it.

It has been a long time coming since I started it during our holiday in Canada last summer and only finished it this week while on holidays. I had picked it up again at time but it was so hard to align all the pieces that I easily lost motivation. Finally ...