What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 AH --- Artificial Intelligence for writing! Yes -- it's been suggested, from multiple sources, that I use it to help generate my presentations. Well, I'd have to be a whole lot more organized! 

Here's what happens when I'm working. I start with a blank page—well, not always. Sometimes, I recycle slides from other presentations. I do that a lot, and since I'm not always sure where the particular pictures I want are, how the heck would I tell a computer where to find them? 

Then, I may take six pictures and load them. In what order ...

Oh my --- I may have "wasted" some free time last week, and today will be a scramble to get all the stuff prepped for tomorrow morning! 

Yesterday was super productive, but I can't share anything yet with you. It was a good day, though, and I learned a ton. 

Let's chat about the UFO club. Despite the three-month hiatus since our last meeting, everyone stayed pretty productive, and lots and lots were accomplished. Few unhappy faces were handed out! 

I want to share this photo of one of the attendees' quilts with you. It was made by Linda ...

One final word on doing things alone. It's not that I don't have friends - I have friends and acquaintances I could call on to do some things. It's not that I couldn't drag DH along, but here's the thing. We need to learn to live with ourselves and FOR ourselves. When we are alone - how do we handle a crisis? How do we handle the good times when we have no one to share our victories with? How do we handle the mundane things that happen every day? If we don't know how to ...

It feels like Ground Hog Day at my house. Another day and I did the exact same things as the day before!!!

Someone suggested that I take my handy labeler and put labels on those drawers, and that would be awesome since I sometimes open the wrong drawer. BUT WAIT—I'm going to show you something about those labels, but it'll have to wait since I do not have a picture of it this morning. 

The latest community project quilt was loaded on the long arm and quilted. I've got a good system going, but it still ...

Before I forget, I wanted to elaborate on two things from yesterday. The first was that jelly roll quilt. 

The jelly roll quilt

Years ago, when trying to figure out what to do with my scraps, I read about a famous quilter who loves to work with scraps. Cut your ugly fabrics into strips, she said! So I had a bag of 2½" strips, which never got used, and some 1½" strips, which are still unused. 

When Diane was sewing all those quilt tops, I gave her the bag of 2½" strips, and she made the jelly roll quilt with ...

Where did all this humidity come from? I don't mind the heat, but the humidity can be a killer—it makes everything feel damp! 

But I continue to walk—it's good practice for my upcoming trip. One thing that I'm very much looking forward to is that most of that walk will be done in the countryside or small villages, and there will be no cars or very few. The idiots in this area are, well, idiots! TWICE yesterday, people came whipping around a corner, looking left as I stood on their right! 

One must be vigilant ...

Energy! I'm not sure how much energy I'll have later today. Sleep eluded me last night for some reason, and I'm sure I'll take a big nap later. But that's OK. 

Oh my—these pens do actually run out of ink! This is a promotional pen, but it must be a deluxe one because it really is the best pen around. It writes nicely and feels nice to hold, and I love it. Thank goodness I have several of them, as this poor one is done! There is some satisfaction in having a pen run ...

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 ...

 Oh, my --- I had another fantastic day! Do you ever feel guilty when you have a great day? Not guilty for others, but do you deserve a great day? Sometimes, I do, but then I've worked very hard to achieve this flexibility in my schedule, so I don't feel guilty. At least not for long. The more I do, the better I feel, and those days are becoming more frequent. I LOVE it. 

Let me start with my teacher's story, and then I can get on with the rest of the day. I think I was struggling ...

I can't believe it's the start of another week! I'm not worrying about that to-do list since I will be away for the entire week. However, one more item is off the list, and I need to do some follow-up this morning. 

I still have three samples to finish making before I leave, so those will be my focus. And I've got a fourth to work on if I can! The bottom line is that I could take all of them and finish them at the show, but I prefer to work on my samples at ...

Remember that "new" word from earlier this week. 

"new" word

Today's post should be called EXIT Game excitement! We sat and mulled the darn puzzle over at dinner, and I was getting tired of it and wanted to leave it. DH continued to mull it over and then said something VERY IMPORTANT. We forgot a VERY VISUAL clue, and as soon as he mentioned it, finding the answer was easy! So, points to DH for solving that one. Hanging up the laundry was easy. 

We moved on to the next door. I was trying to print a quilt label as he mulled over the cards. What could it be ...

I'm comforted knowing that I'm not alone in this decluttering journey! How is it possible that we've allowed ourselves to accumulate so much clutter - physical things or digital assets. Oh well --- we'll get through it!

No one will care a single thing about my computer once I'm gone. No one would dig through those photos, and no one would need or want my old email. I only do this to make room for MORE on my computer and make it easier to find what I have! Then perhaps I could actually do stuff with my ...

Wow -- I'm not sure if I should be happy or not. I'm working on my 365-Day quilt that I started in 2016. I was working on the February blocks at the January 2023 retreat. This retreat? I'm working on the March blocks! If I continue this way, completing this quilt will take another NINE years. 

I thought it might be a good project to use as enders and leaders, EXCEPT the FOUR blocks I worked on yesterday all had miters in them. In total, I made 28 mitered corners on teeny tiny blocks! I'm not afraid ...

 At last -- the final two distribution lists are recreated! The more I put people into my contact list, the easier it became. The dates for the UFO Club are set, and all that remains is to send a couple of emails, which should NOT take long. I hope to get it all completed today!

Part of the homework follow-up from yesterday is done, and I should be good to get everything finished TODAY. That will be awesome. That was on my list of paperwork to finish before the end of the year, but with that little hiccup I had, it ...

And another uneventful day of travel is behind me. I'll admit that I'm a bit shallow sometimes! Hey -- we're allowed to be that way once in a while. This was an exceptional year of travel for me, and a while back, I wondered if I would make 25K status with Air Canada. That would allow me Zone 2 boarding (always a delight) and two free luggage (up to 50 lbs), which is essential in what I do. That happened a while ago, and well, a couple more flights got booked, and hey -- can I make it to ...

I'm a stress eater, and if I had had an Advent Calendar with candy in it -- well, it would have been Christmas Eve by 1 PM yesterday! 

It wasn't seriously bad, but it involved scammers, and I'm sick and tired of scammers. I'll let you know the details later. No money (per se) was handed over, so I'm okay. But I'm just tired of all that. 

I can see why people with mental health issues or even physical issues are taught coping mechanisms. I needed a coping mechanism to get me back on track ...

Have you ever had a day that if you kept a gratitude journal, the day would overflow? That was yesterday! So many GOOD things happened. 

There has been one thing about mySewnet software that has niggled at me since I started to use it. Could I figure it out on my own? Well, sort of, but I just couldn't get the function to work properly. After watching a YouTube video --I got it! Watch me roll now!! 

I figured out the daily puzzle on the Advent Calendar. While DH was home, he was busy, so I attempted it on ...

Seriously?? What did I say the other day about my sewing projects? I said - there is NO applique or paper piecing. And then I spotted this. 

My clam shell APPLIQUE block

Yes, that is a block for the Green Tea and Sweet Beans by Jen Kingwell, which is supposed to be done (the center - no borders) by FRIDAY. I was going to start piecing it and realized that while the clam shells are glued to the block, they are NOT stitched in place. Sigh....................

So - let's get an audiobook going, dig out the thread, and guess what I'll ...

Have you ever wondered what it's like to sew for a living? Well, that's not exactly true since I don't sew for a living, but I earn my keep by doing anything and everything related to sewing, quilting, teaching, and everything in between. This means that the amount of time I spend sitting at a sewing machine is minimal! 

Yep, but this morning, I opted to sew instead of going to the gym (GASP). I know - but that's OK. I'll make up the gym time later. I have to do an errand today - getting my ...