What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

It was a busy day, but it was a GOOD day! I decided to get off my butt and start putting some of this stuff away. Some things in Studio B have languished on the tables since September! Seriously? I know better. So I made HUGE leaps and bounds to get things back in order, and you know what? I feel so much better. I can see open spaces. And I'm much calmer and happier. 

Maybe all those quotes are helping me to see the light! 

Since my decision to change the coloring for Dear Jen, I could put ...

I know that I shouldn't be reading all these old magazines. I'm above that - toss them and be done with it. Buy no more than you can read. However, I have to say that I LOVE reading them. They are almost more entertaining than reading the current ones, which tend to be filled with patterns I'll never make. 

Here's what I learned from a quilting magazine that is over 25 years old! The magazine is called Sampler Quilts by Quilt and has a copyright date 1999. 

Sampler Quilt magazine

Didn't everyone make a sampler quilt ...

Merry Christmas!!!!!  

Okay—we looked in the box, outside the box, and scoured everywhere, but we are stuck. I needed to sleep on this next puzzle in the EXIT Game, and hopefully, today will be the day to solve it. It doesn't help that my friend, whose son is a wizard at these, mentioned that he was challenged by this particular puzzle. Let's see what happens later today. 

We decided to do another Virtual Retreat Zoom call this morning! If you are around, here's the link. I'll open the call at 10 a.m., and we ...

It's all how you look at it! I never considered getting up and down from my sewing machine as a squat. But it's a SQUAT! I'll take it! Elle mentioned that she works inefficiently in her sewing space, and so do I. We all need to keep moving, or you'll end up like my Mom. She can't move, because she didn't move! I need to move - if I don't, my body is going to seize up, and I'll be in worse shape than I am. 

But I love this little command station ...

Do NOT YELL at me, but I fail miserably at ergonomics at my house, especially in the office. Hence my poor posture, which was never good, and whatever other ailments that brings. 

What happened? Well, you know I have this silly pain in my leg, and sitting on a hard chair is a tad uncomfortable. I've been good on my sewing chair in Studio B because it's somewhat cushy. But my office chair is not too well padded. Last night I hauled a comfy chair from Studio B to the office, and well, I'm embarrassed to say ...

I hear you about the paper -- deal with it right away. I try - I really try. But here's what I face. At the retreat, I made a list of things I needed to send to people. The list is half complete. I bought a magazine and wanted to share an article with a colleague - it's still sitting on the desk. I must finish writing some documents - the paper is still on the desk. I must follow up with emails - some of that paper is still on the desk. I got a book from the library to help with ...

Oh boy—this paperwork is going to be the death of me! I spent the entire morning at the computer, and I swear the desktop doesn't look cleaner! Emails and phone calls got done, but I don't think any physical paper disappeared. I'll try again this morning, but I also have a lot of sewing/embroidery to do, and I need to be downstairs! 

But any progress is progress, and we just keep moving forward. I tackled a few more CDs, and the pile is almost gone. What did I find? I found three photos that I ...

Well, it was a long day, and not without a few glitches, which HAD to be solved. But the good news is that everything got done! I even used up all the extra samples I had made the day before. I wasn't sure I would use them, but I did! 

Everything for Project Two is tagged, bagged, and labeled. It's all packed and ready to go to the airport early in the morning. 

So, my original plan to take a carry-on didn't happen. As I set aside stuff to take, I wondered how many pairs of scissors ...

 OK --- so we may have solved the handle mystery. Remember what it looked like? 

The mystery handle

Karen sent me this picture, and the handle of that tool looks suspiciously like the handle above. The one pictured below is a tuner mallet. 

Tuner mallet

I think we all agree that it's some kind of handle that screws into something. Why it screws into something else is part of the mystery. Would you need different ones, and if so, why not just have a separate tool? Or was it to make it lighter to carry, and you had a different ...

Thanks for the comments—there are always so many good ones! I laughed when I read the comment about decluttering and how so many people start—let's say on September 1st, which happens to be today—or they begin on New Year's Day, but they lose interest after a week or so. 

That happens!!! And it has happened to me in the past. I'd get excited and say, "I will get this place neat and tidy." And then, I didn't. However, every time you decide to tidy up, it is the start of making this a ...

 As I write this, I see stormy clouds outside the window. The flight is on time and expected to leave in 5½ hours. Let's pray that it stays on time. Last year, the flight was delayed and it was exhausting. But at least I'll be in the Maple Leaf lounge, which helps. 

There are pros and cons to leaving first thing in the morning or last thing in the day. On long trips like this, I'm good to leave at night and hopefully get a good sleep on the plane. So, if all went well, I should ...

I received a very exciting text and email early this morning. I only saw them while making my breakfast, and I rarely looked at my phone until 9 a.m. However, I'm UPGRADED to business class for my trip! At least the way there—I still don't have a ticket home yet. Yeah, the flight is late at night, and I get a flatbed. Life is good! Now, what will I do with the $1,200 I saved? 

I finished the binding on the 10th donation quilt. Yeah! That goal is done. 

The last binding is on!!!

All ...

And there was yet another learning curve yesterday, and I succeeded! It has to do with email. I almost have the blog post ready that lists my classes for the fall. Writing the post was easy, but finding the dates and times took work! For one of the classes, you have to sign up with me, and I know people like to receive an acknowledgment of their email. I won't be able to do it for a couple of weeks. However, I can set that up via email, and I did. I tested it, and it seems to be ...

What are they doing to my forest? OK, so it's a woodlot, not an endless forest, but I call it my forest—it sounds more impressive! There are a number of entrances to the forest from the sidewalks surrounding it. Since we have lived here, all but one of the entrances has had a paved path for a brief distance into the forest. In all cases, the pavement has prevented erosion on the trails (small hills), which has been good. 

You've heard me mention the erosion. That has only been in the last five years? And I swear ...

Oh, I did not throw that dead skunk into a neighbor's yard!!! I have a large woodlot (my forest) behind my house, and the skunk will decompose and return to the land in a safe and friendly environment! I do NOT dispose of garbage over the fence. I should have been clearer on that, but I assumed (and we all know what happens with that) that everyone who is a regular reader knows I have a natural woodlot behind me. 

Someone said it would smell. I've seen and smelted enough dead animals in that forest—we've lived ...

It was a decent day, but I've been feeling tired lately. Perhaps the heat, although we've had hotter days. I know I'll need a nap today, as I was awake for part of the night. I'm off to spin class but think I'll nap when I return. I hate when that happens, but it's life!

The last blog post needs one last quick read-through, and it's gone, so that is good. I need to take one more picture, but I should have that out of the way by noon—even with a nap ...

Poor Murphy had a good news/bad news kind of day. I'll tell you the quilting stuff first and then what happened. 

We had Monday Sewing, and I love our conversations. Between the group, we know EVERYTHING! Plus, we get to learn about tools (both old and new), and everyone has a different view of them. It's all good. OK—I confess that I'm VERY opinionated about many things. I'm also the first one to compliment someone on their skills, but sometimes, they also have some very bizarre ideas, and what is that all about? 

I ...

Instead of putting the group of decluttering books into the donate pile, I decided to read one. I should be finishing a library book. I should have read this book ten years ago when I bought it! 

I'm past some topics—like career goals. I don't have a career—I have my quilting—but I know where I'm going. I just need to pick a date to retire! I don't want to get bigger or better—continuing the way I am is fine. 

But there was a section about email. OK, I know I have a ...

 We had a lot of rain yesterday, which was the aftermath of the latest storm. The forecast said we should expect buckets of rain the entire day. Well, it was a bizarre day, to say the least. It poured, then the sun came out and dried everything up—OK—maybe just the sidewalks. Then it poured again, then the sun came out. I managed to walk the dogs and my afternoon walk with no rain! 

Now, I get that we had nothing compared to those when it was a real storm, but it was a very bizarre weather day. DH ...

Soon, you won't see the orange basket with the green scraps. While I didn't finish it last night, it's close. I saw quite a bit of the bottom at points of my excavation. 

A large part of the bottom is exposed

Of course, I can't leave things alone, and I have to "fluff" those scraps. This is how it looks this morning. You have to look way down to see what's left. I should have no problem finishing that tonight. I have now officially finished watching the 700 series (2010) of The Quilt Show, so ...