More Fun Time

In Canada, we had a long weekend. Yeah for some time off. And then, my supervisor surprised me with the rest of the week off. What??? Believe me I ran out that door before she could change her mind. WhoopWhoop! Vacation time!!

I decided to drive south. South as in Cornwall, Ontario. My friend Pink lives there and we haven't seen each other in WAYYYY TOO LOOOONNNGGG. What joy she is! A balm on my overstressed system. A reboot was what the Doctor prescribed and she is the best one to help me accomplished that.

And we went shopping! Oh no! Yes, I did bought a *few* things. Haha. 

I'm sorry but in my excitement of being in a fabric store I forgot to take pictures. :^( 

We went to Auntie Em's Quilting. My sewing friends go there but it was my first time. A lovely little store. 

The purchases: I bought a Mystery bag of 10 fat quarters. I thought it would enhance my stash (like it needs enhancement??!!) to finish some project. To my surprise, the bag contained this: 

Ten matching fat quarters. This is a quilt in itself. So I guess I just *accidentally* added another project on my to-do list, lol. 

This Sewing Tote kit came home too. It has the hardware and the zipper included. I'm sure I can find some fabric in my stash for this. I will have to purchase the foam stabilizer and fusible batting it requires. 

Then, Pink gave me some fabric too. Oh MY!! 

So generous!! Thank you so much sweet friend. 💗

What else have I done? Hand quilting. It is so pleasant. 

You can see that I'm now on the third row. Whoop Whoop! So much time to sew when one is on vacation. 

I switch the chair to the other side of the frame. Since I'm left-handed having the window on my left side caused me to work in my shadow. Now it is so much brighter. 

My friend Lucie opens her garage during the summer for her quilty friends to gather and enjoy some SEWcializing. 

I had so much fun there too. Of course, I bragged about my Parking Spot plate that Pink gave me on Saturday. (Yes, another gift from Pink. 💕) 

Lots of jokes and comments were said about that one, lol. 

Lucie assembled her batik project. It was a kit she bought a few months earlier. Planning the borders now. 

Michelle worked on her Delectable Mountains using 1.25 inch strips. 

Françoise did the binding on another baby quilt for my drive. Isn't it a gorgeous one? 

And these are the other baby quilts that were already for me to pick up. 

I worked on an old project turned UFO. Lori from Humble Quilts did this quilt-along back in 2023. It's Parsonfield. 

I did a heart in the centre and some straight lines on the diagonal. I was there for the social part of the gathering much more than for the quilting part, lol. I brought everything I needed except for my scissors. Sigh! How can a quilter forget the scissors?? Lucie lent me hers. 

They have a little heart so they don't pierce her sewing bag. It's so cute! 

Some photos from my *Bucket Garden*. 

Mint and radishes. This is the second batch as the first batch of radishes drowned. It's so wet here. 

The beans took hold of the patio table's leg and won't let go, lol. I'm not expecting a big harvest from that one. 

Bucket full of carrots. 

The sweet peas are not liking the wet summer we're having this year. Or is it my poor gardening skills that is killing this plant? 

Cucumbers. I might harvest some of that. Fingers crossed. Well, at least I tried. And yes, I will try again next year. I believe it's time I weed out this garden bed. Lol. (it's a hose, not a snake.) 

Raven is very happy to have me home all day. It's funny how he sleeps exactly in the same position that I do. 

I'm heading back to the office on Monday, but my intentions are to enjoy this weekend to the fullest. What about you? 

Okay, just one more picture because it is so cute! 

I will visit these talented ladies' link-party. See you there.

Angela at So Scrappy
Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts
Alycia for Finished or Not Friday
Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching
Cynthia for Oh Scrap!

This Week Was Fun

And what a week it was! 

First and foremost, my youngest DS told us he got a job. His formation was on Friday (yesterday) and he's starting next Tuesday. It's a contract for 6 weeks and I am SO happy for him. (Six weeks is better than nothing.)

DH finally got back to work (after two weeks at home, nursing a nasty cut on his thumb) with his sore thumb but he managed to tough each and every day out. Yay! 

Some of you asked about MY work at the office. If I start later in the morning, do I work later in the afternoon?  No. My work hours were cut at both ends. (ouch, says my budget.) From 8:30 to 4:30 (lots of weeks until 5pm), I now work from 10am to 2pm. Or at least that's the plan. I still work until 3:30 - 4pm when there are many meetings to help Danika with the clients. Yes, I know, I used to do it all by myself but she doesn't have an ADHD brain (firing on all 8 cylinders) and the load of experience in customer service I have (she's 19, I'm 63, enough said).  I have good hopes for her. 

Also at work this week, I received my own laptop. My email signature now says Administrative Assistant instead of Reception. My new tasks have also been received. Fun! So, this being said: 

let's sew!

 

Some crumb blocks in whatever-comes-out-of-the-bag and more in aqua. (4.5" and 6.5")

Two 18-Bricks blocks. One in Aqua and the other one in Seafoam Green. Is Seafoam part of Aqua, Turquoise, Teal? Well, I thought it was so I made a block. I know! The butterfly print is in both blocks but I had to use what's on hand, right? 

When sewing crumb blocks, I work on a few blocks at a time (like any true ADHD person would do, lol). Some might be sewn together to reach the perfect size, whether it's for 4.5" or 6.5" or a 8.5 X 6.5" block. The pink one, on the right side, might be big enough for a 6.5" square. I'll iron, measure and trim that one today. 

The chair at my sewing desk is now empty. That big pile has been dealt with. (see last post)

Friday night (yesterday), I challenged myself again. 

The Challenge 

I have (at least) three bags and a drawer of rainbow-coloured strings. I have a drawer (like the one in the photo) for neutral (full) and another one of black (half-full). This rainbow one has been overflowing for years, hence the three bags. Obviously, I still can't close the drawer. It is time to stop stuffing bags and to REALLY tackle the problem. So I did.  

The mess 

One bag down, two to go. 

The progress

Once the three bags were done, I went to bed. My legs were so numb from sitting on the floor. So, this morning (Saturday), the sorting continued. 

Empty, at last

Two cups of coffee and one and a half hour later!! 

The result

Plastic bags are hard to photograph. I didn't pay much attention to the size of these strings. I was watching Project Runway on TV. I did remove some bits and bobs that can't be call "strings" by any definitions. I'm sure more can be remove but won't make much of a difference. The black and greys are together. Other groups include whites, beige, dark whites, yellow, light green, dark green, light blue, dark blue, pink, purple, red, orange, brown, multi-coloured and a jelly roll. I haven't bought that jelly roll so it must have come in a gifted bag or was free with a purchase I did at some point. Can't remember. Guess what colour the jelly roll is? Pastel! So, Angela!  I am ready for Pastel month next year. Lol. 

What prompt this challenge: Terry! Have you seen her string quilt? Click on the link. You won't regret it. 

Early in the mornings, now that I start work later, what do I do? Have coffee on the deck with the cats, do stretches and then I'm suppose to be cleaning the sewing room but Friends' Favourite keeps calling me.

It is set in the loft (the game room), not the sewing room

I timed myself and it takes 20 minutes to do one square including stitching the neutral frame around the square. Like this: 

(Little kitty watching you from the upper left corner. )

The quilting in the coloured sashing is another 15-20 minutes. I'm sewing straight (trying to keep it straight) down the middle of the frames and sashing. So, instead of sewing 1/4 inch in the square, I decided to go with 1/2 inch there too. I thought of doing fancy flowers and butterflies, but then thought if I want to finish this soon, better keep it simple. 

I calculated that if I sew one block a day, it would be done by March 18, 2027. That's not counting the sashing part. I wonder if I can finish it before that. Dare to bet?  Lol. 

So, that's what happened this past week. Hopefully, I can sew some more this weekend. How about you? Hope you find time to sew something too. 

Take care. ;^)

And I'll try to catch these talented ladies' link-party. See you there.
Angela at So Scrappy
Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts
Alycia for Finished or Not Friday
Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching
Cynthia for Oh Scrap!

Galactic Project

At work, some of my tasks have changed. The one I'm really happy about is starting at 10am instead of 8:30. It gives me more time to do things in the house while I have the energy to do it. So . . . 

I gave myself a little goal : cleaning the disaster in my sewing room. A little goal, lolll. It's more of a galactic proportion but if I keep at it, a little every morning, it will get done, right?

Because of my super power, (see last post) the top of these boxes was piled high, full of *stuff*. I grabbed all and dumped it on my chair. This is what I have to do this week. And on the sewing machine table, yes, you are right. 

I don't know exactly what's in there but there are flannel backings for the baby quilts and a whole lot of *miscellaneous* fabric. Surprise! 

So, I sorted, cut and/or folded and put away. 

Here’s an example of what’s in the pile. These scraps (maybe 25 pieces) are left over from the fabric we cut for the baby quilt' tops. I didn’t have the time or the energy to trim them and put them away properly when they returned to me. They were just *piled* (stacked). Now, it's time to cut them into useable sizes. 

The end result : (4) 5" triangles, (2) 2.5" triangles, (2) 2.5 X 4.5 rectangles, (8) 3" squares, (8) 2.5" squares, (2) 2" squares, (3) 2' strips of different length, (3) 1.5 X 2.5", (3) 1.5" strip of different length and (1) 1.5' square. I was so happy about this little "clean up" that I grabbed another one and cut some more. 

It's a leftover too but I really don't like this fabric. The teddy bears behind the white grid do something to me and blur my vision. It's worst in person. The camera lens kind of lessen the effect somehow but I think you can see what I mean. Anywho! I was still determined to cut it up. Started with the bigger chunks and worked my way down. 

 

The end result : cut strips at 2.5" for binding; there was enough for 228" long binding. Whoohoo! Then (3) 5" squares, (3) 4.5" squares, (1) 3.5 square, (1) 3" square, (2) 2.5 X 4.5", (4) 2.5" triangles, (3) 2" strips and (2) 2" squares, (2) 1.5" squares and (2) 1.5 X 2.5" rectangles. I'm glad this one is behind me. Phew! 

Needless to say that these cutting sessions are adding bits and bobs in the bag I want to empty. Scraps of fabric will exist as long as the sun rises from the East. Haha.

The chair is still full of stuff. I will continue to work on it this weekend. 

I found this box. Thinking it was leftover fabric again, I thought I could put the fabric away and get rid of the box but, wait! It's a project. 

I had to look it up because I couldn't remember the name of this mystery by Bonnie Hunter back 2016. It's *En Provence*. 

So many pieces cut and sewn but not much put together yet. I gathered everything in a plastic bag with more instructions and set it aside. 

It prompted me to have a place for my "started" projects. It will be easier for me to know what I have and mostly where it is. When I leave for a sewing retreat, I'll just dive into this milk crate and get a few projects out to bring along. As you can see, En Provence didn't stay alone in there for long. Lol. 

A quick scan around the sewing room has revealed more PiGs. I'm sure more will join these one as I continue to declutter.

It brings me to show what I did sew last weekend. (nothing got sewn this past week. Too much cutting! Ha!) 

The purple crumb block you see on my sewing machine in the last post now measures 6.5" square (untrimmed). I added an orange one and a little 4.5" square for the Crumb Star project. I also added the points to this centre to have a second aqua star. This one has dusty rose fabrics from light to very dark. 

I was also able to find enough of these "in-between" reds to finish an 18 Bricks block. 

From dusty rose to bloody orange along with watermelon, salmon, coral pink and tomato reds. All the fun ones are in there. 

Lastly, I got Friends' Favourite on the frame (FINALLY!) and hand-quilted one square. Only 255 to go, lol. 

It's raining here this weekend. More time in the sewing room for me. Hope you get to add a few stitches to whatever project you are working on. 

;^)

And I'll try to catch these talented ladies' link-party. See you there. 

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts

Alycia for Finished or Not Friday

Kathy for Slow Sunday Stitching

Cynthia for Oh Scrap!

Canada Day

July 1st is a holiday in Canada and what did I do? 

Nothing!! 

Why? 

Because my press iron decided to quite on me. Traitor!!

Yes, this is Friends' Favourite. I needed to press the back again before trying to roll it, again, on the quilting frame . . . straight!! Doing things outside is always so nice, right? 

While my DH was changing the electric cord on the iron, I decided to move a piece of furniture closer to the stairs. My SIL wants my old sewing cabinet. Yes, please. Get it out of here since I'm not using it. Make room. Anywho! I digress. So DH comes down the stairs and gives me back my fixed-iron and says: 

Do you really think you can bring this upstairs all by yourself? 

My reply: Is that a dare? (Lol.)

DH comes around the cabinet to help me but his foot caught on the stairs/cabinet and he loses his balance, fell on his side where the furnace is. Fearing the worst, I panicked for a minute. Somehow his head missed the furnace corner, somehow his wrist, arm, hip, knee  didn't break when hitting the cement floor that hard, but he cut his thumb. Badly! One trip to the emergency later, he now has 5 stitches on his thumb and they weren't done by me. (We still haven't figured out on what he cut himself.) 

By the time we came back home, the storm was in full swing and we had a power failure. No sewing! I was so annoyed that I went to bed. Such an ugly and frustrating day off. Not fair. I want a refund.

(My patience level)

P.S. Yes, the cabinet made it up the stairs and into the garage, waiting for SIL to pick it up. My sons did the hauling. 

Anywho! On the 2nd of July, we had a new girl starting at the office. Yes, I'm the one training this one too. Danika will be our receptionist as I am being "promoted" to different tasks. I get home very tired because training someone takes a lot out of you. So, again not much sewing. 

(The clean space beside my sewing machine didn't stay clear for long. Sigh!)

But things will change soon. Once Danika is comfortable at the front, I will move at the "back" of the office and do accounting and paperwork stuff. I will still be the receptionist during her lunch break and vacation, but I'll mostly be away from phone and clients. I'm SO looking forward to this change I can barely wait. Yeah! No more phone calls. 

Can you see the *beautiful* yellow plug my press iron now has?  Lol. I don't care. It works and that's all that matters to me. A few weeks ago, I got a neon light under the window because in the evening this corner gets very dark. 

DH added a plug for the neon and it can accommodate the iron plug too. This makes it easier on me as I don't have to bend down behind the milk crates anymore. Yay! Not very pretty, but again, I'm the only queen who will see this. Ha, ha! 

Do you have a super power? I do. I'm a *Piler* ! 

I'm excellent at piling things on any AND every flat surfaces. (Maybe I should add this skill of mine to my job resume, lol.) Under this pile of fabric is the box of crumb blocks made through the years. Instead of just removing the box from the bottom, I sorted, folded or cut and put away every single pieces. 

Awh! I'm so proud of me. Now, my goal of emptying the bag of bits can continue. 

Speaking of! I finished the red star and did a second one in the colours of the month. I used a green centre. 

Needless to say, it will be a very interesting quilt. 

While working on emptying the bag of bits, I found a tiny little piece that I couldn't throw away because the letters C and P are on it. 

So, I turned it into a mug rug just for ME with lots of orange and aqua. 

You know what the C stands for and I bet you can figure out what is the first letter of DH's name. I'm such a romantic. The scraps in here come from the bag except for the cat strip on top. I dug it out of the "dark whites" because I wanted more cats. It's ready to be quilted. 

I had lost Angela!! *So Scrappy* and *RSC* posts weren't coming to my Reading List anymore. I went to the list of blogs I follow and clicked on the name of her blog and all I got was her June 27th post. No newest post. I clicked on that, the post opened, clicked on her Home page in order to have the latest post. I unfollowed her blog and closed the page. Reopened the page and clicked on Follow in order to have her back in my feed. Sigh! 

Is this happening with the comments too? If Angela was to comment on my post, would I get it? 

I wonder what will Blogger think of doing next to get on my nerves!! How many others have I missed because of its shit-nanigan?

Anywho!! DH is getting the stitches out today. Hopefully, he will return to being a useful partner. Lol. And I have to continue sewing the flannelette backings for the baby quilt. I am not as far along as I would like to be. Pedal to the metal, girl.  

Some pieces are measured. Need to figure out which one will go with what. 

Have a happy sewing week! ;^)

As always, I'll try to catch these talented ladies' link-party. See you there. 

Angela at So Scrappy

Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts

Alycia for Finished or Not Friday

Cynthia for Oh Scrap!