What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Significant progress is being made at the quilt retreat!! Thankfully, the temperature is dropping, so it's much more comfortable. I don't think any building was comfortable the previous day. Yesterday, we were nice and comfy, and with lower temperatures today, we may not even need the AC. OK, so that's me, but the others may feel differently. I actually felt slightly chilly in the room this morning!

Shoot, I meant to take a picture of the sewing room, but I'll save that for tomorrow. 

I started the day (after several hours of sewing) with a walk ...

Most things we buy online or send have a means of tracking them. I recently bought two large items online (CDN store, which was the only way I could purchase the items). OK, one of the items I could have bought in the store, but I didn't. 

Well, I've been watching the tracking numbers. For one item, I was contacted by phone yesterday, and we agreed to have the item delivered tomorrow. There was no online confirmation, and I was going to get in touch yesterday, but they touched base with me. 

The second item has been sitting ...

Oh my—what a treat yesterday was! I had nothing on the agenda, and I could do what I wanted when I wanted. I certainly needed that mental break. I haven't even cleared up the tables in the film area yet. 

A bit of tidying needs to be done

I'll do that later today, or maybe I'll do it during Monday's Sewing and set up for the final presentation. Yeah! Then, I think April will be very quiet except for my "personal" classes and a couple of challenges I must work on. A few quilts need ...

I had a feeling that yesterday was going to be a fantastic day, and it was. When I got to the gym, Joseph approached me and said that the first seven minutes of his video were for me. And sure enough - my new adventure was documented on the screen! Keep in mind that the videos he plays are usually extreme sports or other crazy things that people do. While this isn't exactly an extreme sport, it has some element of danger. Good grief - who am I kidding - there's an element of risk in crossing the street! 

The Monday ...

Oh, FARCE!!!!! If you read yesterday's post, I mentioned how men overlook little details. So imagine my dilemma when I couldn't see a box of fabric if it hit me in the head! 

I was looking for a new UFO to work on. I knew where the project was, so I dug out the basket with the supplies. My goal for this month was to get myself organized, so I went for this project: Farm Girl Vintage. 

The basket for the Farm Girl Vintage project

I had some free time yesterday afternoon, so I decided to get organized ...

Here's an interesting observation. I had a busy week last week, as have been the last several weeks. It's not so much about being super busy - two 2-hour presentations per day don't fill the day, but there's prep work for each and other bits of life. Usually, one of the two events would be held in the evening. 

While I had three shorter Zooms yesterday, they were more "casual" than during the week, and after 2 PM, the rest of the day was mine. What a huge difference that made in my day! I could actually ...

This morning, I made a list of everything that needs to be done this week. Hmm—there's not much time for sleeping, so I'll have to be efficient with my time! However, there are two things that I will not skip: writing the blog and going for that afternoon walk! 

Did you notice that both of those things involve ME time? Yes, even though I might give up some ME time in other areas, these two will always happen—unless there's a significant issue! 

Both of these are for my mental health. And when I say mental ...

Well, I seem to have some major computer issues this morning. They actually started yesterday, and the biggest problem is with Microsoft Outlook. I've always had issues with that program, and it doesn't disappoint. 

I've had to reboot my computer twice, and it's not even 5 AM. Yes, I rebooted many times yesterday, so it wasn't like I was irresponsible. 

The issue is that it won't synchronize, meaning it won't send and receive emails. Seven emails, all written yesterday, were still waiting to be sent. I see it is finally syncing, and let ...

Thanks for the comments yesterday. I'm surprised there were not more that roasted me for being "harsh." I get it that some people absolutely adore decorating for any holiday, making meals, etc. And I'm totally for that. But when it comes to the point that you shut everything else down for a month? That's a bit much! What about if you need a storage unit for your decorations? I guess we all have our priorities!

Again, I'm not against giving money as a gift, but I'm not fond of it when you don't know ...

OK—so what do you do when the book you're listening to is depressing? The book is "When the World Fell Silent," by Donna Jones Alward, and it is about the Halifax explosion (1917) when they were in the midst of a war. I totally get that times were tough. Many people died in the war, the explosion, and the Spanish flu. It just seemed that the two women in the book were saddled with EVERY possible calamity. Even the prologue foreshadowed terrible things. 

I hate abandoning a book, so I persevered. I'm now down to one hour ...

 HA -- I love the comments - I LOVE them all referring to the Jen Kingwell quilts. Yes, indeed - I LOVE them all, and very hard to pick the one I like the least. They are all so worthy in their own right, and I'm just so darn proud of everyone who finished, and there will be more finished quilts. Those will get posted and added to the appropriate slot to keep them all in the same place. You'll know when that happens. 

It's that bittersweet day at any retreat, as we're going home today. But as usual ...

 It's a great day! Why? No idea -- it's just a great day! I had fun puttering yesterday - no immediate deadlines (OK -- so I'm in denial on that one), I do have deadlines, and I'll get to them this coming week. I puttered on homework for my upcoming classes, and well - it feels good to get the homework done way before it's due. Now I need to make up the presentations before I forget everything!

And I'm hooked on a darn audiobook. I look like some music-loving geek as I run around the house with ...

While I loved being away at the quilt retreat, it's always nice to get back home! And yes - I switched pillows last night. It's too early to tell, but my neck does feel a bit better this morning. It's also that lunatic dog of mine that doesn't help! Walking Murphy is like getting mini-whiplash! She's so much better, but I bet that hasn't helped the situation. 

I couldn't help myself; I contacted Paula's daughter to tell her the quilt top was done! She LOVES it. And so she should - her Mom chose ...

 It's raining this morning, and I'm NOT going for a walk in the rain. So no walk this morning. Perhaps later today. It's been fun walking, and last evening, we clocked the length of the driveway. It's about 300 steps one-way and takes about 2 minutes 20 seconds. So if we did that every hour, that would be a great little pick me up. 

When I booked this place because our other retreat house was sold, we weren't sure. It's someplace new. You have to learn where everything is. Will the house be big ...

Oh dear -- I don't want to say that I'm flying by the seat of my pants or that I'm working to deadlines again. But I am getting things done the day they are due and not a minute before!

Today, it's all about the Quilts of Valour sew-along. Since I designed a pattern for them, they asked if I would participate in the event. No problem - I have NOTHING on the calendar today. Could I prep a short video? Of course, I can do that. When asked how long the videos would be (I'm making ...

Another GREAT day! I don't care what the rules are - having people to talk to is important! Whether that talking is via Zoom, on the phone, or in person. If you're NOT getting out or connecting with people, you NEED to do that. It's important for your mental health. And it's going to be even more important as winter arrives and people tend to cocoon inside their homes. 

I've found a good way to multi-task. I plug my headphones in, and I make calls while I'm on my afternoon walk. I have to laugh ...

The weather is just as out of sorts with the world as everything else. One day, we're sweltering in the heat (well, not quite - but it was warm), and this morning, I turned the heat back on in the house. I won't be sitting outside any time soon which is probably a good thing since I have so much that I want to do and there just aren't enough hours in the day.

I don't think I posted the two blocks that I worked on last week for our Christmas Fig sew-along.

There were a lot ...