What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

A couple of weeks ago, I showed you the beginning of this honeybee theme table runner in a Sunday Chat. When we left off, I had put the borders on and was ready to quilt it. Loading it on the longarm, I dug through my pantographs for something that would look like the flight path of a bee.

This one seemed to be good, some swirly parts with a pointy change of direction.

Quilting was done in white Glide thread with Bottom Line in the bobbin.

When I got to the bottom of the table runner, I put a strip ...

OH my -- I always get a chuckle from the comments, and I need to get back to answering them individually. I'm not a math nerd, so I don't calculate how much batting cutoffs get used in a year, but it is shocking when I see people throw those batting bits away. I "glue" them together for smaller projects like table runners, bags, placemats, etc. I am working my way through the batting cutoff closet, and once April is here, I plan to be on the long arm to try and finish up some community projects where I use ...

Regarding yesterday's post about changing needles, I wanted to add something. The "rule of thumb" is to change the needles after 6 - 8 hours of sewing. But what exactly does that mean? Some sewists could be sewing (needle moving up and down, NOT just in the sewing room) 6 - 8 hours in one day. For others, that might be several days or weeks. 

The guideline I use is to wind 4 or 5 bobbins, and when they are done, it's time to change the needle and CLEAN the bobbin case. You'll have to listen to your machine ...

OMG -- did you see the exercise Elle recommended for strengthening the legs? Squats! I hate squats. Well, I hate them because my legs are so weak. But she's right! In the short time that I've become more aware of my situation and doing something about it, I feel much stronger. Not using hands to get out of a chair or using hands to sit down. Let the legs do the work - they are quite capable! People -- we do not want to walk with canes or walkers or, god forbid, we'll need someone to help us get out ...

I am always looking for ways to make things easier and less expensive. With embroidery, especially with the new machines having enormous embroidery frames, the amount of waste in stabilizers is huge. I recently told a friend about this tip, and did some photos of my latest project to share it with you. The tip involves using a sticky stabilizer, not a fusible. You can use either a plain sticky tear away, or use the one I like best, which is Sulky’s Sticky Fabri-Solvy, a sticky water-soluble stabilizer. Just press it onto your fabric on the wrong side.

Hoop ...

Oh my—I'm rereading these blog posts about keeping a quilter happy while on vacation, and I love this one! It has lots of tips for keeping everyone happy. 

I think I've discovered why those links didn't work last week. When a link comes up and I copy it, I need to ensure the "https:/" is included, or it will redirect back to my blog. How do I know that? I'm experimenting! 

Today is election day in our province. For anyone eligible to vote, please get yourself out there and vote. And for those who think ...

This past week, I have been on a mission to find some small projects that our guild area group can make for our shop at the show next year. Knowing it will take some time to find the right ideas, I’ve been looking for quick projects with pizzazz. Thank you, dear readers, for your input on this subject some days ago. Your comments were immensely helpful, and combined with my research, I am looking for specific things in a project. I think that items with embroidery will do well, as many sewists do not embroider by machine. So something ...

Thank goodness those links worked. I even tested them myself, but that was a weird situation. It had never happened to me before, and then it happened twice in the same post! 

I'm pleased to report that the machine embroidery workshop is a rousing success! Even the more experienced are going home with some new knowledge. It's been loads of fun, and we have another exciting adventure this morning. I will adjust the schedule for the one in May, but that is all. 

I usually sleep like a log here, but I was awake the night before for ...

OK  -- that is so weird about the links. Something is happening that reverts them back to my blog. 

Let me try this one more time. 

Quiltcon Winners

If the link does not work, search for QuiltCon Winners 2025. The link will pop up. 

The same with the Dignity Sculpture. Google search that topic, and the link will pop up. 

I have no idea why the links are reverting back to the blog. If they don't work today, that's three days in a row that the link has been reverted back. Do you have any suggestions, my IT friends ...

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 ...

I did it!!! I completed a computer task. All of the USBs were dealt with except the missing one. All the files were moved to OneDrive, and everything was deleted from the USBs except for the locked files. I have no idea how that happens. And what about the two PowerPoint presentations that say they can't be deleted because they are open in PowerPoint? Seriously? 

I will try to delete them again today, but I don't want to waste more time. In the future, USBs will be TEMPORARY storage places, and the files must be deleted once I ...

It's a new year, and many people are setting goals, such as how many books they will read, how many projects they will work on, or how many miles they will walk. 

Last night, in our Conquerer Facebook group, I noticed that one person set a lofty goal for 2025: The circumference of the earth, which is 24,910 MILES at the equator. Seriously? That's 68 MILES a day. What is their mode of transportation? A scooter? A car? which then defeats the purpose of a challenge to get you moving. 

I see someone else posted this morning ...

I don't think any birds will be visiting my suet feeder today. It's windy, like mad outside, and there's a wind chill! Yeah, I can hardly wait to take the girls for their walk! I'll be bundling up for sure. Thankfully, I do not need to go anywhere once the girls are walked. I have one Zoom class this evening, so I can stay indoors!

Speaking of email woes, this one is a doozy! We have a monitored alarm in our house, which I absolutely hate. If it weren't for insurance, it would NOT be ...

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 ...

…but let me catch my breath. 

So…a lot has been happening. Others may not think so much, but this old gal just retired last week after working full time for the last 49 years and I am exhausted. 

Tattoo Quilt: All blocks and center panel are pieced, and I’m almost done ripping off the paper! And yes, it is the ONLY project I have worked on this year. 

Studio: I had been researching electronic or digital cutters. After going down the YouTube rabbit hole, I borrowed Cindy’s ScanNCut. End result was going to the Brother dealer to ...

Today’s project is specifically designed for those who have embroidery machines, but it can also be done with fussy cuts and fall fabrics. Who could use a new pretty kitchen towel? Just about everyone, I think. So, even if you do not have an embroidery machine, read on anyway for a great giveaway today and some ideas on how to make a fall inspired towel with fabric.

For the towel, you can start with a towel blank, or make your own from toweling fabric. Mine is 18×24 inches. If you are making your own, cut your fabric to ...

I am still a slug! Every day is better, but that energy level is still missing. All that travel and carting stuff around took a toll on me. A few more days, I suspect, and I'll be as good as new. I'm much better than earlier in the week, so progress is going forward, which is a good sign. 

As for DH -- let's just say that he has a new appreciation for what surgery means. I swear he thought he would be incapacitated for the remainder of the day he had his surgery, and then he could ...

I must start going to bed earlier (at my usual time) instead of later because my body wants 8 hours of sleep. So I'm losing my two productive morning hours because I'm going to bed later and getting up after 8 hours! I will say that when I go to sleep, I'm out like a light, and I have never slept so well! 

I had two big adventures yesterday, which didn't allow me to touch much in Studio B. I had to move stuff off a table so we could work, but it still looks like ...

Did I accomplish three things yesterday? I did, but I would really have liked to have done one more. That didn't happen, but I went to bed exhausted and happy! 

What amazes me is that even with the "downtime," my days are filled. Well, I'll never be done with all the stuff I have to do. But since I'm enjoying what I do, I can't complain. 

Here's some stuff I finished up for our machine embroidery session yesterday. These items are made from clothesline rope. I think it was the day before leaving for Quilt ...