What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

There are loads of times when I wish DH were more techie, but he isn't. However, he did solve the mystery of the missing mic on my laptop, so I can't complain!

I just opened my protein bar in preparation for spin class. It's a low-sugar one. How did they lower the sugar? By eliminating the chocolate coating!! Where's the fun in that?

It wasn't my most productive day, but I'm making progress on the writing assignment. The next tone will be sent after I make a couple of minor changes, leaving one that ...

 I'm chuckling after reading the comments! First -- Jackie - 100%. Keep those three main areas clear - the cutting table, the ironing surface, and the sewing worktable. The rest of the place? Who cares! Well, it should be somewhat neat and tidy, whether that is in bins, on a table, or whatever. If you don't have room to work, you won't want to work! Thanks, Jackie, for confirming my new system! 

As for technology — 100% agree — if there is an issue, it can take eons to fix. I love that you warned your DH to stand back! Yep -- that ...

OK -- Now I'm curious, as are a couple of other people. What retreat house (or venue) in Eastern Ontario are you attending that has late check-in? Is this a new trend in quilt retreats? 

I guess if your retreats were always like that - that works, but seriously --- with the new system, we are paying the SAME MONEY and losing an entire day of sewing. I'm not a fan and will not go there in the future for that reason. 

If they dropped the price, I might consider it. The rationale for the late check-in is that they can ...

 Retreat is half about socializing and half about productivity.  I was plugging away and got the braid border finished for a Round Robin.

We looked at this for a while:

Then, we decided that since my laptop was charged up I could show them my pics from Birmingham Quilt Festival.  EXCEPT ...

That feels better—I was off bright and early to meet with Brooke. My legs have been so tired since my last trip, but after my stretching and compression pants, they feel so much better! 

Well, I am loving this relaxed schedule and certainly want to take advantage of it for as long as I can! I have two trips, a quilt retreat, and one guild lecture to round out the last two months of the year, so that should be pretty easy. It's giving me lots of time to tackle those current project tables, but as we all ...

Happily, the stencil brush and paint crayon did NOT even make the lost and found list. While walking the girls, I had my thinking cap on. Where the heck could that little bag be? Then I thought that if I searched the blog, I might have mentioned the darn thing. When I got home, I searched the blog for "stencil brush." I had to go through several posts about stencil brushes for applique, which I use all the time. But then there it was - a picture! The post was relatively recent - May 8, 2024. I wasn't even working on ...

I love to teach - I think everyone knows that, and I seem to be a natural at it. Perhaps when I was a kid, I should have veered that way. But I'm happy things turned out the way they did. 

I lived a very isolated life as a kid, and the only job opportunities I saw were those of a teacher, a nurse, or a secretary. Can you believe that? But it was common, and that's why we have a lot of retired teachers and nurses who quilt. 

I learned to type in high school, either in Grade ...

LOL - Your comments are so funny! I'll answer them individually this morning!

But seriously -- WAIZE versus Google Maps? Oh dear --- DH and I have this discussion all the time. I'm a Google Maps girl, and he likes WAIZE and never ceases to encourage me to use it. Well, I have had ZERO issues with Google Maps. Any app I use uses Google Maps, like Geocaching, and my house locator (shh -- used for spying, not moving!), and so I love Google Maps! 

The issue with my car is that Android Auto seemed to be timing out - it had nothing ...

Thankfully, I had a great sleep last night. Why can one night be so different from another? I woke up at my ridiculous early wake-up time without an alarm and then decided to luxuriate in bed for another half hour, only to wake up again without the alarm. Then I decided it was time to get myself organized and out of bed. I have a lot of work to do today!!!

Remember the minor detail (the slot) on those bobbins? I decided that I am not keeping those old bobbins—the ones without the slot. Some of these bobbins had ...

Taking photos of sewing machines is not as easy as you might imagine. Quilt Direct had a media and marketing apprentice for a while and she did most of the social media posts but I am now responsible for the “on the fly” studio posts. I had to take pictures of the new Bernina 7 Series Pro machines but they looked grey or had glare because I was not getting the lighting right. There is a bit of a weird phenomenon where videos of the machines can be flickery so I had to turn off their LED lights. I am ...

I spent part of the day making and editing videos! I'm not good at it - well, I'm OK with it, I'm just slow because I'm still learning, and I don't do it often! What the heck would we do without Google?

For those who were unable to attend Quilt Canada 2025 and would like to view my concurrent show, "Celebrating 25 Years of Teaching Quilt Making," here's the link. I still want to make one more video of all the multi-part classes I've taught, and it seems I missed one! So I'll ...

Thanks for the tip on eliminating SO from my vocabulary. That's all good advice. I used those techniques to switch "hit" with touch or select. This, too, will happen, but until you are aware, you can't change a thing! It's like the quote from the other day. 

Quote of the day

Self-awareness is crucial to self-improvement, but most of us are unaware of the little annoying things we do. Getting constructive criticism or someone to film you is key to fixing that. I understand that no one wants to watch themselves on video, but ignore how you ...

I can cross the Facebook Live event off the list! All the prep paid off, and the technology worked like a charm, except for that brand-new camera. I could NOT figure out how to focus. Guess what? I'm returning it and will buy the more expensive one. It was a cheap camera, and I understand it doesn't have the bells and whistles, but it was a hassle to set up. All the settings had to be reset each time I turned it on. I'm prepared to bite the bullet to have an idiotproof camera. The cheap one ...

I have a question to ask, and I don't mean to offend anyone by asking—that is not my intent. I'm merely curious. Is there anyone out there who uses scented laundry products? That could be detergent or dryer sheets. I'm curious because the scent is too strong for my nose. And I think that's just because I've become so used to NO scent that anything out of the ordinary becomes too much. 

Even walking in the neighborhood and smelling the dryer sheets from vents, if someone is drying clothes, is too much for my ...

Yesterday was supposed to be a "lost" day, but it turned out completely different from what I had planned. I had to get the car serviced and the tires changed. Yes, it's a bit late in the season for the tires, but with the weather, it wasn't a big deal. 

The appointment was scheduled in the fall when I had the last service. About a month ago, I received an email to confirm that appointment, but I happened to be away, so I ignored it. It was in the back of my mind to call them and confirm ...

I haven't purchased anything yet, but I'm going to! Thanks for the recommendation on the Garmin tracker. I guess the bottom line is that I won't be going back to FitBit. 

So here's the silly thing about charging devices. It is highly recommended not to charge your devices 100%. I don't understand the technology, but something about the battery (obviously) and how charging to the max is not good for the battery's life. 

WAIT -- I can Google that to find the answer. OK -- have you Googled anything lately? If so, have you noticed what ...

My long anticipated Art & Stitch retreat week was a success! The amount of preparation that I did paid off and I managed to pull off the illusion of being an expert on a complex digitising program. The folk who came along all gelled nicely as a group and all went home as far more confident users of the Q-Matic with Art & Stitch computerised quilting system. 

It was a beautifully sunny week here in Devon (nearly Cornwall) so it was a novelty to have a mid-week day off. I did not head for the seaside but pottered around at home then ...

This week I have been glued to my 2 computers in every spare minute! Last June I was meant to teach a week’s retreat all about the “Art and Stitch” software for Quilt Direct but it was postponed due to low numbers as it is a tad niche. I was almost ready with the preparation then shelved it all thinking I would have months to finish it all off. Obviously, I got side tracked by moving and DIY so my good intentions kept slipping. Hence, I have spent hours finding, revising, copying, and checking all of my files! The ...

I travelled back to my cosy Devon cottage on Tuesday via Stonehenge, according to the Satnav and that seemed to take ages, although it was scenic. I was back at work for 2 days this week where I dashed around making cups of tea for visitors, attempted a sewing machine inventory, basted a customer quilt and answered the phone, plus loads of other things;)

At home I painted what I could reach of the grubby upstairs landing. It is pretty small so that did not take long. My long awaited garden furniture set arrived from Temu. Instead of being 4 ...

Brooke (personal trainer) couldn't be at the gym this morning. That presented a BIG dilemma. Do I just say I'll pass this week and perhaps do some stretching at home, or do I get my butt up and go to the gym? 

Well, I went to the gym! While I may have been in great shape and somewhat flexible years ago, that has slowly disappeared. I needed to sit down to put my shoes on; I could barely get myself out of bed. Walking downstairs was becoming troublesome, getting up off the floor - totally unelegant. None of those ...