What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 And another crazy day is in the bag! Actually, it wasn't a crazy day at all. It was a glorious day - I worked at a leisurely rate, went for a long walk, sat in the gazebo, and generally went easy and well -- it was a glorious day!

The day started a bit weird. Lexi and I were out walking along a somewhat busy street. While she doesn't pull like Murphy does, she likes to stop and smell EVERYTHING. Tugging is required to get her back on track and keep her moving; otherwise, we would never make it back ...

It's a good thing I don't flap easily! I was all set up for my free-motion class in Studio B. I noticed an UNSTABLE INTERNET notice a couple of times, and I ignored it until someone said that I was hard to hear and so it was time to move. I had to disconnect everything and run upstairs to the kitchen table, which seemed to help. But now my other cameras were downstairs. 

Things were fine until DH came home and wanted to watch TV in the family room right beside the kitchen, so I trundled off to ...

Don't worry -- I'm not moving! The neighbor who just sold her house is a single person and lives in that big house all by herself. It was time for her to move, and she had talked about it for years. We are NOT moving! My girls love their backyard, we love the backyard, I love the location, and as Jannette mentioned, if you sell, where the heck will you buy? The prices are crazy everywhere!. 

I spoke to another neighbor who had been thinking of moving, but they've looked in smaller towns and decided to stay put ...

Sometimes it's great to run away! And that's essentially what I did yesterday. I was the guest speaker for the Goderich Quilter's Guild. I've been to Goderich before, and it's a quaint little town right on the shores of Lake Huron. I knew I had to visit the beach before I left. 

Before I show you the photos, I wanted to say how beautiful those small Ontario towns are. The houses are so far apart - that I could swing a golf club and not hit the house next to me. Of course, that is in ...

I squeaked through another day! Oh gosh --- there's so much exciting stuff that I can't contain myself. I can't share all of it with you today, but WOW --- I'm so lucky. I've surrounded myself with some very talented people, and we are sharing all kinds of amazing information!! You'll be able to participate in that sharing either through the blog or through some future clubs. 

But here's the thing --- it works best if a great majority of the people are participating. You all know about the 80/20 rule --- 20 percent of the ...

 So there are good days and bad days! That's the same thing with the nights. I had a terrible night with very little sleep for several reasons. It drives me nuts, which is probably why I couldn't get to sleep -- you tell yourself - you are not upset, you are calm, everything is OK, and yet, you can't get to sleep. 

The worst of it all was that there was NOTHING to be upset about. Anyway -- it's not the end of the world - I'll live, but it just happens to be my day with the most ...

I'm behind! There's no other way to put that gently - I have my schedules and my TO-DO lists, and I'm not slacking off - things just take longer than planned! I had a plan for getting some major writing done, and I did get some accomplished. BUT, as I write, I think of something else to add (I need to STOP that), which involves a picture or two more and more editing. 

The bottom line is that I got one of five assignments done. And I've got pictures for the next two (well, most of them). It ...

Yep -- someone commented about the masks. They are everywhere! Personally, I've had two cloth masks and used them throughout the pandemic. Granted, I don't need to wear one often, but still, if you used a disposable one -- dispose of it responsibly. 

As I walked yesterday, I thought I needed to get one of those garbage picker-upper things, and I can pick up a bag of garbage a day along my walk. Someone who lives in the same building as my parents does that in their neighborhood, and it keeps their community clean, and it gives him something to ...

You know how it goes -- you plan to get something done in a specific time frame, and that doesn't happen. Well, I'm happy to report that I had a homework assignment to prep, and I really wanted it done in a specific time frame, and it's DONE. The pictures are taken, edited, and in the presentation! Now how did that happen? OH -- I know -- being realistic in setting the goal! 

Well, I didn't get to bed too early yesterday, and there was NO watching of baking shows. I'm also working on two other presentations, and ...

OMG --- I LOVE my blog. That's a pretty narcissistic comment, but seriously -- I just went to search for something, and well, each of the posts has something cool that I remember. OK -- that's not exactly true as some days are boring as ever, but other days - well! 

But the underlying theme remains the same! Here's the link to a post from January 7, 2012. You'll see why I'm sending you there in one second. But the title of that post is Learning Never Stops. That's hilarious! And it's nice to see that I ...

Oh gosh -- I'm going to blab on about Farmer's Wife one more time today, even though I did NOTHING on it yesterday. 

Remember that duplicate block? The one that didn't have the values in the correct place? As I was searching for the final reveal in my blog, I stumbled across this post.  

Here's the link to the blog post about the coloring on that block that was wrong. But did I make a note of that? Nope. So let that be a lesson to myself -- if you make a duplicate block -- identify it as such ...

What a super productive day! I put my headphones on and listened away to that book about a world without ANY modern conveniences and sewed and pressed and cut. And this is what happened. 

The status of Farmer's Wife

Yep -- I got over half of the top together, and I love it!! The photo does not do justice to the richness of these fabrics. It's amazing what can happen when you are totally distracted from the process of sewing! Thankfully, the battery died in the headphones when they did. The subject matter of that book is very challenging ...

That was a CRAZY weekend! One class on Friday, THREE on Saturday, plus the Virtual Retreat, one more class on Sunday, and then Virtual Retreat all day Sunday. That's about 20 hours of Zoom in one weekend! Let's say that I'm getting my money's worth from my annual fee. And I saw a lot of familiar faces throughout the entire weekend!

I need to look at several other things to which I have a subscription and see if I'm getting my money from those. 

I think we all agree that the Zoom thing is here ...

Ready or not -- I'm as prepped as I can be for my first session of serger events in French. Yikes --- it's like a whole new language! OK -- so it is a whole new language. I remember so many things in French, but I never sewed in French, and my vocabulary of things sewing is well -- limited. What are tweezers called? (pinces) - what are those loopers called? (boucleur inférieur and boucleur supérieur and boucleur chaine). (Sorry -- I don't have time for the accents!)  I mean -- it's one thing to talk about a subject, and I could go ...

So Murphy and I were out for a walk. We had just started down the multi-purpose path near us, and we spotted a skunk by a tree. WHOA! Of course, Murphy went nuts, but then I noticed the skunk was NOT well. I stopped to take a picture which didn't turn out, and a couple of joggers passed me and mentioned that the skunk didn't look well. OK -- so it wasn't just me. How does a skunk not look well? When they are having a seizure -- that's how! 

I stopped and called Animal Services. Good grief ...

I PROMISE this is the last day I talk about the snow. It's just that the saga is so ridiculous that I can't help but laugh. What happened yesterday is so silly and proves that grown men have infantile behavior. And that's all I'll say about that. 

So here's what I found in the morning when I got up. Apparently, the backhoe came back in the night. Usually, the BEEP BEEP BEEP wakes me up, but I must have been tired -- I heard nothing. So imagine my surprise when I looked out the window to ...

Or should I say a marathon of snow? Anyway, we had received a lot of snow, but not nearly what we got a couple of weeks ago. And it was a beautiful morning, so wonderful to see the snow, but not so wonderful to walk in it. 

And I'm apologizing for this in advance -- no, I'm not. I'm mad! But here's another rant about the snow.  

First, some pretty snow pictures. 

This looks like a skunk. Just waddling along in front of the house. The day before, it was a rabbit. It's like we have ...

So my Master Class list is keeping me on track, and so far, I'm doing OK. But I'm going to run into trouble this weekend, and I don't think I'll get everything done in time. But I'll do what I can. Part of the problem is that I was behind on some homework for one of the projects for tomorrow, and I absolutely MUST get caught up. Sigh................ 

Yep -- instead of making all those hourglass units, I should have been focusing on the homework, and I'd be OK. It's all about setting priorities ...

 Elle is BRILLIANT!!!! She suggested using the new doggie bench (when it arrives) as a grooming station. That is brilliant! It'll be sturdy; the bed just sits in the frame around the top and can easily be removed. And hopefully, Murphy will be occupied by the great outdoors. Gosh -- I want Elle to be -- well, I want her to be my consultant -- she is very clever. Thanks so much for that brilliant idea. 

Yesterday was all about free-motion quilting and the second part of the free-motion class at Thimbles and Things. Well, technically, NOT at, but hosted by them ...

Thanks for the suggestions on the topics for the basic sewing machine class. I'm going to put that agenda together and find a time slot. It WILL happen as I think it's terribly important for everyone to know the essential functions of their machines and how to make them work as they should!!

Yesterday was a bit of a topsy-turvy day. I had to get M and Bear to the airport by 10 AM. That was after spin class, and well, the girls never did get a walk! Now that the company is gone, we can get back ...