Let's wrap up June (since it's already August!) Log Cabin & A Unicorn

Log Cabin - I love the colours in this.  The quiltmaker wanted it quilted "like in the magazine".

That involved feathered swirls in the blocks, from the center out to the corners, and then a simple meander in the rest of it.

No s.i.d. kept the cost down a bit.

Unicorn - this is all paper pieced.  Whoo baby!  

Thankfully the quiltmaker sent me a pic of how she wanted it quilted.  Otherwise I'd probably still be staring at it wondering what the heck to do.

I had to get a little bit of technical help from a longarm buddy who has done this style of work.  The background rays were done with the I.Q., and that was a bit of a challenge too, but in a good way.  I like learning new things.

On the personal front, the garden is coming along nicely.  The zucchini is a bust this year.  In an attempt to thwart the zucchini bugs I planted it in large pots on the patio. Two of the three plants died from wilt.  The third one is hanging in there, so far.  We shall see.  Thankfully a friend has an abundant crop and she's been willing to share.  The bumper crops this year will probably be potatoes and tomatoes.

Pizza and bread made from a big-batch artisanal dough recipe has made a frequent appearance on the dinner table.  In fact, it's pizza night tonight, in celebration of some very expensive mushrooms I picked up at the market.

Since the end of June:

• I had a real haircut from a real hairdresser.  Sooo nice.
• I've had several backyard dinner-at-a-distance with friends and relatives.  The hardest thing is definitely coping with the fact that I cannot hug anyone.
• I've had two massages.  My neck & shoulder have decided they want to compete with my hip to see which body part can cause me more pain.  Aargh.
• I had an honest-to-goodness restaurant meal, on a restaurant patio.  I was very trepidatious but it was long enough ago that I obviously did not catch anything.  Why does Blogger not like the word trepidatious?  Anyone???
• I had a bone density test, then a telephone appointment to review the results (which are good).
• I had an eye exam that had been postponed several times from last fall.
• I was back at the dentist, just for my semi-annual cleaning.  
• I actually received a refund for my trip to Italy that had been scheduled for August 28th.  That shocked the hell out of me, in a very pleasant way.

COVID STATS AS OF AUGUST 9, 2020

I pulled these numbers from the news this morning:

Global:  19.6 million cases, 270,000 daily new

USA:  5 million, 54,000 new daily

Canada 119,500, 220 new daily

Ontario:  40,000, new <100 daily (70 yesterday)

I have to remind myself not to get too cocky over the Canadian numbers vs. the USA.  We are opening up and I KNOW our numbers will be going up too.  Dear God, I hope not to that extent.  I like to think that our politicians have our best interests at heart and will handle things accordingly.  I do, however, have great sympathy for my friends in the US.  I can't see myself ever crossing the border again.

Half-Square Triangle Quilt, Yes I Have Flour, Covid Update #2

I really enjoyed working on this quilt.  There is so much depressing/horrifying/shocking (pick any one) news every day that this really cheered me up.

The whole thing is made from half-square triangles.  If you are involved in a guild swap of half-squares, this is a great use for them.

Mmm, love the back.

YES, I HAVE FLOUR

Like many people I'm not sleeping very well some nights.  Although I don't usually get UP at three in the morning, last Tuesday I was WIDE AWAKE.  So I figured, what the hell.  And since I have flour I decided to rattle around in the kitchen and make a couple of these delicious breakfast fruit braids.  The filling is cream cheese, fruit preserves, and some fresh berries.  DH and I managed to eat the first one over two days.  To show a bit of respect for the waistlines, I put the other one out of sight in the freezer.

One of the problems with the current lockdown is a lack of will to go get treats for Sadie.  Well, not that we don't have the will but it's a bit of a production, and frankly, quite stressful. So I fished around in the messy pantry and located the dog cookie cutters and the collection of recipes.  These are dirt simple.

After cutting and rolling, then kneading the leftover dough and cutting some more, I finally used the last bits to just roll out little globby blobs of cookies.  Sadie does not care - they taste just as delicious as the cute bones.

Forcing my way OUT of the kitchen I ventured down to my workroom and made up a bunch of masks.  And yes, I started cocktail hour a bit early that day.  Don't judge me.

More entertainment...I located a set of guild blocks.  Rather wonky, ranging in size from 12" to 13", but pretty nevertheless.  Hopefully quilting will happen this coming week.  This is one of the guild donation quilts.

COVID UPDATE #2

I need to update my blog more often if I'm going to continue this personal diary.

• 3/31 Public schools in Ontario will be closed until May 4th. Toronto cancels all events (parades, conferences, festivals, cultural programs, until June 30th. Hamilton has a snitch line to report non-essential businesses flouting the mandate as well as people gathering with more than 5. Haldimand-Norfolk has 27 confirmed cases, Anson Place (seniors facility in Hagersville) has 3 dead, 11 positive.
• 4/1, it's one of those days when I had every expectation of working. Morning news until 11 am, with a bit of online messaging thrown in. 11 am pull up a half hour exercise video, which is interrupted by a call from Dr. Adachi's office (he's my bone density specialist).  I got my "visit" over the phone. 1130 shower & dress.  1200 lunch & newspaper. 1230 dry hair then go back to the paper. 100 call from  a friend about the cancellation arrangements for our fall Italy trip, and some mutual Trump bashing. 130 finally finished reading the front section of the paper. DH & I go into town. ..get water, get meds, mail cheque to food bank. 230 take Sadie for a walk. 300 go fish small potatoes out of the bag in the fruit cellar so DH can plant them. 320 make tea & write up this timetable of today's activities. 330 go to work...it's obviously going to be a short work day today!  Hamilton reporting 112 cases as of today. Ontario = 2,392.
• 4/3 Trump orders 3M to stop shipping N95 respirators to Canada and Latin America. Gosh, you couldn't ask for a better neighbour than that, eh? (yes, VERY tongue-in-cheek)  
• 4/4 Provincial forecasting...by end of April 80,000 cases and 1,600 deaths.  Dr. Zizzo's death (my family doctor!) was featured on CH news, possible Covid death. Ontario today 3,630, Hamilton today 147. Effective midnight tonight I am no longer  permitted porch pickups or dropoffs, although I wasn't taking dropoffs anyways.(*)
• 4/8 Hamilton 198, 6 deaths. Hald - Norfolk 110 with 6 deaths (60 cases are at Anson Place who are reporting 8 deaths which is at odds with gov't numbers).
• 4/10 Ontario govt has extended all restrictions and regulations until April 23. Made 15 masks.
• 4/11 Tried to mail masks to family but the post office closed an hour early.  This is the first time I've left the house in 11 days.  I even had on mascara!
• 4/12 - Easter Sunday.  We took a drive to 1-800-Luke's and threw a bag on his porch containing two masks and a few gloves.  DH cooked us a roast beef for Easter dinner.  Yum.
• 4/13 - Got myself mascara-ed up again and made a succesful trip to the post office.  I also picked up my meds.  Only a 30 day supply is being filled these days to prevent hoarding and to limit shortages.
• 4/14 - 3 am and I'm WIDE AWAKE.  Decided to get out of bed and make a couple of breakfast braided breads, filled with cream cheese, fruit, and walnuts.  Later I will be making dog cookies since Sadie's cupboard is bare.
• 4/15 (*) I called the Ontario government for clarification on the non-essential business rules regarding porch pickups and dropoffs. Apparently that decision is up to the business owner, although my "storefront" must be closed.
• 4/17 Picked up our first produce box that was ordered online.  For $25.00 we got: 5 oranges, 1 melon, 1 box blueberries, 1 box blackberries,  1 box mushrooms,  2 sweet peppers, 2 red onions, 1 head lettuce (yay!!  I've been wanting lettuce for at least a week.), 1 head of celery, and a large bunch of snow peas. You drive up, tell them who you are and what size box you ordered and they put it in your car.  Nice.  After we got home I left a quilt on the porch for a client pickup, and she left me a bottle of wine as a tip! How sweet is that?  I was reading the news before bed (stupid, studid, stupid.  Always a mistake). Donald Trump was tweeting that three of the states needed to be LIBERATED. Wtf? He thinks the restrictions are too limiting on the population.  And, oh yeah, those three states are all DEMOCRAT states. That man is such a frightening character.  He instigates chaos and encourages frenzied behavior akin to a pack of wild dogs, all for the sake of politics. Check out the "rallies" of protest that are going on because of his vitriol. As much as I don't like Doug Ford, I agree that our border should stay the hell shut. Fucking nutbars over there.
• 4/18 Yay, the US/Canada border is staying closed for another 30 days. I started another batch of masks using the Patrick Lose pattern.
• 4/19 Canada 33,383 cases. Ontario 10,010. Hamilton 323 cases.  Anson Place 71 cases, 23 deaths.  Dear God.  And so many people still think this is no worse than the seasonal flu?  Today was supposed to be the SOLO meeting in Elmira.  Sigh, not happening now until the fall.

Entertainment During The Pandemic, UFO's, Quilt Ideas, Local Happenings

SCHEDULING UPDATE
At the moment I still have seven quilts here that I will be working on.  As they're ready I'll contact you and arrange a porch pickup.
I am not taking in any quilts until the provincial restriction on non-essential businesses has been lifted.  I realize you might find that to be an inconvenience, but as a rule I do what the "people in charge" tell me to do. Depending on how long this situation persists it might mean your booking in May gets delayed until Julember, or whenever.  With all the UFO's that are being completed you can certainly be added to the calendar, so feel free to contact me.

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I was on retreat the first weekend of March and worked on these three tops.  The first little panel quilt is a challenge at the Binbrook guild.  It's due in June and I hope we're back to having meetings by then.

DH and I cleaned and defrosted the freezer.  We had to throw a few things out that have been hanging around too long, but overall it was pretty good except for the frost.  I really like the accessibility afforded by the upright but it seems to be much worse for frost, or perhaps I can just SEE it better.  Another plus:  it defrosted REALLY FAST.  Although we left everything in coolers outside overnight (it was well below freezing that night) we could easily have reloaded it within a couple of hours.

The cleanout located a couple bags of frozen cranberries, which meant I had to (had to?) make a cranberry loaf.  This was really good with the cheddar, so I will definitely make it again.

Deciding on quilting designs is helped along by a bit of doodling on cello wrap.

And when life gets to be too much, make brownies!  This is a Buttermilk Brownie recipe from an old Better Homes & Gardens cookbook.  I never have buttermilk, so I've always had to substitute with soured milk (by adding vinegar or lemon to regular milk, not by using the stuff that's gone off and makes your gag reflex kick in... in case you're new to cooking).  Now that I make my own yogurt I use the strained whey - it also adds that nice bit of tart flavour.  My other baking tip is to reduce the sugar by about 25% and to skip the icing.  Trust me, they are still quite edible.  I bake this in two 8" cake pans and hide one of them  in the freezer after baking.

Here's where I've ended off with the Four Patch Posie.  I got sick of the news Sunday night so I finished this up while I was waiting for the I Heart Radio Living Room Concert to start.  Now it needs quilting.

The panel quilt is finished and ready for presentation.

LOCAL COVID HAPPENINGS

3/22 Hamilton cases = 27
3/23 Ontario closing all non essential business as of midnight tomorrow. Porch dropoff of 2 quilts today and I won't open the bag until 27th at the earliest.  DH got 2 emergency bags of dog food, just in case.
3/24 Hydro rates are going down for 45 days - woo hoo, I can do laundry in the middle of the day for a change. Took a walk this morning to get away from the news, and spent a lot of time messaging with the Beach Girls about our respective needs for batting. I spoke to a customer who's a little annoyed I won't take her quilt now. Did not wash my face OR  make the bed this morning.  I thought this was just a facebook joke, but apparently it's not. 😜
3/25 I spoke to a customer who is picking up on Friday - she wanted to drop off 2 quilts.  I initially said yes since she was going to be on my porch anyways, then I called her back and said no. I've penciled her in for June.  It was 13 degrees today so we went for TWO walks. I set pea seeds in water tonight to presprout, and a friend has an "in" with someone at Stokes Seeds - she's trying to get us a seed order.  Apparently, seed companies have been overwhelmed with orders.  There are 100 new cases in Ontario today, and Hamilton is reporting 39 cases today. NY governor announced 5146 new cases in one day. Omg.
3/26 Any travellers coming in to the country are required to quarantine under the quarantine act - 14 days, the only exception is essential workers. Trump wants to put troops at the Canadian border. Wtf? Sigh. Nice day today, the pea seeds are soaking to presprout. A friend of ours quit her job at BMO because they have done nothing to protect the staff in the branch. Cases in the U.S. rose to 83,836 on Thursday — more than any other country, overtaking both Italy and China — while the death toll passed the 1,000 mark.
3/27 Regarding the McDonald's closure in Hamilton last week ...the employee FAKED the doctor's note. Lol.  Teenagers can be sooo stupid!  (and yes, that also applied to me when I was a teenager)
3/28  First death in Haldimand-Norfolk was announced last night, a resident of a  nursing home.  Current stats: Ontario 1144 with 19 deaths. Canada 5655 & 61 dead.
3/29 Ontario gatherings are now limited to no more than 5 people.  Six Nations starts limiting access to the reserve - they have two people tested positive. Haldimand-Norfolk has 23 cases.
3/30 Hamilton  has 70 cases today...from March 22nd (8 days) that's an increase of 43 cases.

I am quite horrified by the numbers coming out of the USA.  Their screwy health care system is leaving uninsured people to fend for themselves.  They can't afford to get tested (one news article reported a cost of $900.00 for the test), and if they land in the hospital they will end up bankrupted by the final bill.  HERE is a news article about a California teen who was denied medical care over a lack of insurance and subsequently died.  If you have precarious employment and live paycheque to paycheque, chances are pretty good that you will get sick but keep going to work.  If you have no medical insurance you won't go to the doctor, won't find out you're infected, and will carry on infecting everyone you come in contact with.  Dear God...  HERE's an article about medical insurers and their adjustments to the co-pay system from March 12th.  This should scare every American (AND every Canadian, since they're our next-door-neighbour).

Jason Yenter Quilt and the Caledonia Pandemic Update

This is one of those quilts that scares me a little bit... I used lots of the "stand-and-stare" technique.

I will probably NEVER tackle a quilt like this - so much applique and paper piecing, with an on-point medallion setting.

I think at one point I had seven longarm rulers out - straight rulers, curvy rulers, circles, ...

I also needed chalk, a blue wash-out marker, and the IQ.  Along with some collaboration from the Beach Girls. 

Beautiful back.

In my last post I mentioned that some things had been cancelled with the Coronavirus epidemic, and that the grocery store was out of hand sanitizer.  Here is a timeline of things that relate to me, starting on March 9th.

• March 9 - WHO declares a Pandemic.  The Bulk Barn will no longer allow shoppers to bring their personal containers.  Toilet paper has been flying off store shelves for at least a week.
• March 10 - I made a trip to Swiss Chalet and Costco with a friend.  I needed an emergency supply of Parmesan cheese and baking cocoa.  You can't have an apocalypse without brownies, right??  My friend SHOULD have bought toilet paper because they had some and it was on sale.
• March 11 - at a guild meeting, I jokingly tried to auction off a bottle of hand sanitizer with a starting bid of $20.00.  No one would bite.  Bummer.
• March 12 - this was the date that Mark Preece Family House sent the email advising volunteers to stay home.
• March 13 - Colleges and Universities in Ontario have closed.  Mark Preece House sent an additional email advising that the House was closing and all guests were being asked to leave, asap.
• March 16 - I sent the revised SOLO invitation to the Ontario longarm quilters, changing our meeting from April to September.
• March 17 - This was a big day, item-wise.  The Province of Ontario declares a State of Emergency.  This closes many establishments and releases additional funding to some institutions.  This was the day of my last face-to-face client quilt dropoff.  My little warning antennae started going ding.ding.ding when she mentioned that she's a flight attendant.  Aaack!! deep calming breath  This was also my last face-to-face social engagement, when I had my friend over for tea & toilet paper (see March 10 item).  She'd been looking in stores for four days, with no luck.  This was also the day the travel agent advised that the final payment in March for the Italy trip (scheduled for late August) was being postponed.  Aaand my optometrist called to reschedule my appointment to mid April.  They have been ordered to close.
• March 18 - the customer booked for Saturday the 21st has emailed to cancel our appointment.  I had invited the tea & t.p. friend for dinner on Saturday, but I cancelled that in light of the current directives to "social distance".  For the life of me, I cannot remember what date we were told to social distance, so I'm going to assume it was March 17th, when the State of Emergency was declared.  I received an etransfer from a friend refunding the theatre tickets she'd bought us for a May 2nd performance.  Tonight I sent a big long email to my Singapore niece (who's actually in Vietnam).  I haven't talked to her since Christmas, so I just wanted to bring her up to date on what was happening here in Canada.  Every time I googled the virus and Vietnam, information was a bit sparse.  I wanted to know what was happening in her neck of the woods, and a little assurance that she and her family were ok.
• March 19 - Singapore niece replies to my email saying that she has no time to update me, they are leaving for Canada tomorrow.  Well, let me tell you...that brought some real tears of relief! She's the daughter I never had and I think about her all.the.time. This morning I had my first Porch Pickup with a customer.  I left her quilt out on the porch but I couldn't miss the chance to chat for a few minutes so I went out (staying away from her) and visited for a bit.
• March 20 - the Canada/US border is closed.  Only citizens (?) and commerce are allowed to cross.  DH's sister and her husband called to let us know they are back home from their winter abode in Florida.
• March 21 - the Haldimand & Norfolk Public Health Department has ordered the closure of all "personal care" establishments.  No haircuts.  No tattoos.  No facials.  Suck it up ladies - we're going to start looking like our real selves soon.  My optometrist called again, and cancelled my new April appointment - now they've been closed "indefinitely".  And speaking of looking like our real selves - I skipped the part of my day when I get dressed in "daytime" clothes.  Ha ha ha, pajama day!!  I got caught though - one of the Beach Girls accidently hit the "video call" button on Messenger and one of them noticed my jammies.  Whoops. It was a fun call, though.  Scrolling through facebook tonight I see the news that an employee at a sort-of-local McDonalds has tested positive.  There go any hopes I had of an Egg McMuffin takeout. wah wah...
• March 22 - the second Porch Pickup happens.  I have another one tentatively scheduled for tomorrow, for a quilt dropoff.  DH and I realize that we must have transitioned to "mature-and-at-risk"...our neighbours did some grocery shopping for us.  💗  The Singapore niece has posted on facebook - they have arrived in Canada.  happy happy  I had a cheque to deposit from the March 19th p.p. so we went for a little drive, and I wore a bright orange latex glove to use the banking machine.

Somewhere in there the upcoming meetings for my three quilt guilds were cancelled, too.  Every day I am GLUED to the news, and to facebook.  I hope that doesn't become a new bad habit.

Hallowe'en In January/To-Do List/Technology Whining

Because I'm someone who has three Christmas quilts, two sets of Christmas pillowcases, two sets of Christmas placemats, and a set of Christmas napkins, I TOTALLY understand someone's desire to celebrate the seasons with themed quilts.
So cute. 🎃

I used a medium grey thread and quilted a design of bats.

The back is the best place to see the design.

As far as my Winter Holiday To-Do List progress, it's kind of stalled.  The drapery panels and the linings are all cut.  The decorator fabric has been hemmed.  The lining hems are pinned but not stitched.  I dug around in the cobwebby recesses of storage where I keep drapery sundries to discover that I don't have any drapery weights.  That means I either have to go to the fabric shop, or I have to ask DH if he has any stainless steel washers about 1" in size.  I also have 2 custom quilts and 1 panto that I want to finish before the end of the week, along with a dentist appointment and two guild meetings.  So my time this coming week is all accounted for.  Maybe I'll get back to the drapes next weekend.

TECHNOLOGY WHINING
I left the Royal Bank in 1998 and started this little home business, which has been working really well for me.  My darling brother wanted me to be efficient, so he gave me (Christmas present, maybe?) a copy of Money 98 so I could do my bookkeeping.  This was back in 1998.  I've been using that program ever since - if it ain't broke, don't fix it - right? So...I needed to look for something yesterday and tried to open the software.  Fuddle Duddle!! 

I am assuming there is a 20 year something-kind-of-deadline which expired on December 31, 2018.  Even though I've backed up my files religiously, and I have 75% of my bookkeeping already input for 2018, I can't get at it.  Now, my project (because the Universe thinks I NEED a project) will be to see if there's some kind of upgrade available from Microsoft, or if I'm chewed, screwed, and tattooed.  It is also possible (but not likely) that the Windows Update that needs to be downloaded will fix this problem.  What do you think the chances are, hmm?

Zentangle Workshop and To-Do List Update

I joined the Ancaster Modern Quilt Guild, partly because I know some of the members, and partly because they seem to have a pretty vibrant program.  Last Saturday I attended a Zentangle Workshop hosted by them, presented by Kim Mastromartino.  You can find her on Facebook as The Inspired Quilter.

Here's some of the little cards we were working on...

Here's my same card after I (maybe?) finished it.  The class was lots of fun AND INSPIRING.  Which we all need, especially in January.  Right?

TO-DO LIST
Yep.  Knocked another item off my list.  The mending & hemming item - complete.

My plan for today was to start the drapes, however that was slightly interrupted by ... oh, let's call it TECHNOLOGY. This is how my day has progressed so far:

• 7 am, go for a pee then crawl back into bed.
• 8 am, try to shut off the alarm before it wakes DH up, but inadvertently turn the radio on.  Oops.  Sorry.  Get up.  Let Sadie out of her crate and give her a morning massage.  Lucky dog.
• 8:03, take my morning pills and head out with Sadie for a pyjama walk.  She's recovering from knee surgery back in November, so in the morning she gets a massage, Range Of Motion exercises, and then a short walk.  Usually it's DH who takes her, but sometimes it's me - jammies & housecoat, yoga pants, ear muffs & winter coat.  It's surprisingly refreshing.  And I really Do.Not.Care. if people call me the weird old woman out in her pyjamas.
• 8:30, coffee & internet - read the forums, check the news, decide to investigate the KETO diet, and message on/off/on/off/on/off...etc. with the Beach Girls.  Discuss diets with them and pretend I have no idea what they're talking about when they mention the number of calories in alcohol.
• 10:00, beg DH to go get us breakfast from McDonalds.  Continue internetting & messaging while waiting on food.  Decide that KETO is never going to happen in this house.  DH would not eat 90% of the required foods.  Salmon?  Avocado?  ZUCCHINI?!**?!
• 11:00, breakfast is finished, go down to the "real" computer.  Search out "low carb diet", print out recipes that have a slim chance of passing muster.  (ha ha - "slim" chance - get it?)  Let's face it - if we're going to continue having McDonalds for breakfast we need to cut down somewhere else.
• 1:45, finish and send the letter of concern to one of my sales reps - yeah, I'm not particularly happy about something.
• 2:30, update the Caledonia guild blog after having gone through the photos I took at the January meeting.
• 2:45, start working on my blog.

Did you notice anywhere in that timetable a place where I mentioned "brush teeth" or "get washed" or "put on real clothes"?  So, here it is, 3:30 in the afternoon, and I have yet to make myself presentable.  Do YOU think I'm going to get those drapes started today?  

Stay tuned for the next instalment of The Caledonia Quilter's "Never-Done-Because-She-Won't-Get-Off-The-Damned-Computer List".

More Critters On Quilts, and Quilt Scheduling

I showed some "animal" quilts a couple of weeks ago, in the post that degenerated, somehow, into a story about bullying.  Today I am being UPBEAT!

First, we have a moose.

Next, a bunch of sheep.

A butterfly.

A Yeti.

And feet.  This one cracked me up... it's the BACK of the Yeti quilt.

I have to show you the whole butterfly quilt, though.  It's really pretty.

Here's a clip of the back...it's Minkee.  The quilting shows beautifully on this stuff, and it is sooo soft.  Use caution, though.  Sometimes teensy bits of the fluff will pull up to the top of the quilt during quilting.  The Minkee fibers get caught in the twist of the thread.

I'm sure you are all wondering how the, um, procedure went last week.  Fine.  I'm clean as a whistle and don't have to go back for ten years.  Yee haw. 
Scheduling of that was great too. 

• Monday - prep.  No food & lots of toilet.
• Tuesday - colonoscopy then light food for remainder of the day
• Wednesday - guild pot luck supper! 

QUILT SCHEDULING

As you may have noticed, I'm currently scheduling work for April.  Why am I so busy???  Well, I'm not exactly busier.

1. In the past, people would drop off the quilt that was on the schedule, and they would often bring another, unscheduled quilt with them.  I would quilt both of them, even though only one was penciled in on my calendar.  I was forever behind schedule and would spend extra time at the machine in the evening.  NOW, these quilts get added to the queue and I'm working hours that are closer to what I want.  This hasn't improved my housekeeping efforts, but maybe next year I can work on that. 
2. In the past, I would schedule three quilts per week.  This was the BEST. TIP. EVER. and I thank Jane Berry for the suggestion - it's been working very well for years.  However, I am 62 and would like to spend more time piecing and playing in the garden (aka weeding).  So the schedule for 2019 only allows for TWO quilts per week now.  Obviously, that means a longer wait time.  In 2018 I started by blocking off an empty week every couple of months.  One in February to clean the house and enjoy the Beach Girls here for Winterruption.  One in the spring to get the garden cleaned up and planted.  One in the late summer for harvesting & canning of produce.  One for the France trip.  One in October for Tobermory with the Beach Girls.  

After I finish up the December quilts (3 for binding today, then this week will be 2 more pantos and 1 custom) then I'm 'closed' for Christmas holidays.  I have plently of mending that's piled up the last few months. DH had to resort to buying a few new shirts. 😀  I have bedroom drapes to make, and I want to paint the dining room...although that may get hired out because of my bad elbow.  I have several tops of my own that need quilting, and a pile of guild placemats to be quilted for Meals on Wheels.  I think that will keep me plenty busy for two weeks.

BUSINESS TIP

If YOU are a longarm quilter and you want more business, make sure you have some kind of presence on the web.  Several new customers contacted me this past year because they found me by doing a Google search.  I regularly refer people to other quilters when I cannot accommodate their time frame, but I don't know everyone who quilts for hire.  People should be able to find you as easily as they find me.  

Quilt Basting, Spring Activities and A Bit Of Whinging

One of the jobs that a longarm quilter will do is baste a quilt for you so you can either hand quilt or machine quilt it yourself.  I charge a flat fee of $50.  Some quilters charge by the square foot which might save you money or cost you a bit more, depending on the size of the quilt.
When I baste a quilt I use a 4" grid and, generally speaking, will use up partially filled bobbins.  I don't do anything stupid like bright red bobbins on a white quilt though.  These jobs are slipped in, between quilts that are booked on my quilt schedule, so they're usually ready for you in a week or two.

Spring Activities
Whew... all the windows are washed, with the help of my WONDERFUL Karcher Window Vacuum.  That was the best $35 I ever spent.  I wish there was some excellent tool that would help me wash the screens, too.  But no - those require a scrub brush.  My normal routine has always been to wash the windows in the fall, get the screens done, and store them in a humongous plastic bag in the fruit cellar for the winter. When the spring comes all I need to do is the window washing and pop the clean screens back on.  That didn't happen last fall for some reason so I had to do the whole shebang now.

And if you're curious, as of yesterday we still had two clumps of snow, and there was a possiblity of flurries last night.  You can use your imagination as you ponder my thoughts on that.  It's not a pretty sight.  😝

The most important spring seeds have been started, and my plan is to transplant tomatoes this afternoon.  I also need to find the plastic cloches for the garden so I can put out a couple of cabbage babies and a couple lettuce babies for early eating.

What the Hell I'm Whinging About Now...
Family, and Finances.  Not religion, and not politics.  Although honestly, these days I could rail on about politics for hours.

Dear Family:  You have taken a person who is ALWAYS so happy to be in your company (me), and you've done her wrong.  Maybe you ignored the email, or the phone call.  Maybe you never responded to the package or the card you got in the mail.  Maybe you never bothered to say "yes" or "no" to the dinner invitation.  These are all things that happen quite easily to every person on the planet.  But YOU,... you manage to accomplish these things on a regular basis. Which means they are no accident. So... ok.  Message received.  Hmmph.  In hindsight, writing this was probably a waste of my time.

Finances:  This situation has come up several times over the last few months so I guess it needs to be addressed.  I do not accept post dated cheques.  I let you know your quilt was ready.  You decided on the pickup date.  End of story.  You put me in an awkward position that is very uncomfortable.  That's like asking me if I think your butt looks fat.  Please, have some consideration!

Christmas Trees Anyone??? and the Border Challenge

I wish I could be as prepared as some of my customers.

I will still be trying to choose Christmas gifts on December 22nd.  And cursing myself.
This is beautifully pieced and will make a great gift for someone.

This backing is a lovely cozy green flannel.

These stupid tomatoes are no longer allowed in the house.  There are so many fruit flies zipping around the kitchen that I have to keep a SECOND coaster for my wine and put it on the top of the glass to keep the bugs out.  I've now become very adept at picking up the glass and gently sandwiching the top coaster between two fingers and sliding it off while I take a slug dainty sip.  So far I've done 15 jars of salsa and 37 (?) quarts of diced tomatoes.  Many many people think I'm a bit insane to can my own tomatoes.  If they ever googled the 'allowable contaminants in canned goods' they might change their minds.

THE BORDER CHALLENGE and a bit of whining
Back in June I showed you some pics of this quilt, which I made for two different challenges at two different guilds.  At the first guild (the Paint Chip challenge) I won zippo. Nothin.  There were, I think, at LEAST 15 entries.  The winners did great jobs on their projects and their wins were well deserved.

At the second guild (the Border Challenge) I won first prize - a charm pack of red & whites that I can use for the same two guilds' current challenges to celebrate Canada's 150th birthday next year.  Yay me!

Now for the whining part...
At the second guild, which is the same size as the first guild, there were FIVE entries.  Compared to at least FIFTEEN entries at the first guild.  With only five entries there was obviously not a lot to choose from when the ladies voted.
When I walked into the 'challenge room' to look at the entries and fill out my ballot, there was a conversation in progress, in front of MY quilt, that went something like this (I have paraphrased because I was trying to NOT eavesdrop, but they were kinda loud):
Lady A:  "Well, the quilting is beautiful but did she quilt it herself, or did she pay a longarm quilter?"
Lady B: "She might have her own longarm."
Lady A:  "If she paid a professional then she didn't do the quilting and I would vote for a different quilt."
Lady B: "Even if it she did the quilting herself, that still makes it done by a professional."

I have to tell you, firstly - for courtesy's sake I think the conversation should have stopped when the ladies saw me enter the room, because they know I am a professional longarm quilter, and I think the three of us were the only ones in the room at the time.  Secondly, this kind of chatter makes me wonder why I go to guild meetings.  It's hurtful and makes me feel like ... like ... dirty somehow.
Am I not supposed to participate?  There were FIVE damned entries!  Obviously there are a lot of guild members who could not be bothered to appreciate the organizers of the Challenge enough to play along.  How do you think they felt after doing all the hard work of putting instructions together every month?

And lastly:  the reason the quilting is beautiful?  Because I WORKED HARD to make it beautiful.

Rant over.  

Interesting Quilt Backs, a Business Relationship Story, and the Zucchini Report

I really like the border on this quilt - how it makes the whole thing 'float' on the background.

I especially like the BACK of the quilt.  Using some leftover patchwork and some leftover fabric hunks from the top always makes things just a little more interesting.

HOW TO RUIN A LONG-TERM BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP IN ONE EASY STEP

I've been going to the same hairdresser for over 30 years, with a very rare visit to a different salon.  Honestly, maybe three times.

She's self employed, works at home, and considering that she is a service provider - I know her really well.  I know her kids and her husband and I know all about her holidays.  I'm a good client, undemanding and uncomplaining.  I arrive on time.  Once she and I got our wires crossed and I was coming a half hour later than she thought I should.  Once I turned up, unknowingly, with no cash, and I dropped it off later that day. 

On my last visit, I walked in the door and she said "you're LATE".
First, my jaw kind of dropped.  I said "three minutes???"  (and I was a few minutes late after running an errand).  She argued that I was five minutes late, according to her phone and her clock.  I really hate confrontation, so I laughed it off saying that she could forgive me for those few minutes, right?  But I could see that she was really steamed.  Half way through my haircut she took a personal call and stood there chatting with whoever, about her upcoming weekend, and the bridal plans, and potato salad, etc, etc.  This call went on for quite some time.  She must have thought I had it coming to me.  I dunno.  There was no apology for the interruption.

After my cut, I paid her and I left.  And I'm not going back.  I feel like she totally disrespected our relationship.  She hurt my feelings.  Maybe she was having a bad day and I should cut her some slack, but that is a two way street.  Since I'm the one forking out the $$$ it is not my job to forgive her, unless she is willing to make nice too.  She has kept ME waiting plenty of times and never been terribly apologetic. 

In the back of my mind I know I am acting like an ass.  And then I think:  after at least 260 haircuts I deserve more love.  You know?

ZUCCHINI REPORT
Picked this week:    13
Picked YTD:           43

In other garden news, I am continuing to weed.  The soil out there got a bit dry, so we gave it a good watering.  Then, of course, it rained the next day.  There are a couple of ways I know of to make it rain.  One is to water the garden, the other is to wash your car.  That's ok though - the plants would MUCH rather have rain water than our horrid, iron-ey, mineral-ey, hard-as-a-rock well water.  I've picked a few raspberries.  This is my second summer with the ever-bearing raspberries, so I did a bit of research.  Apparently (according to the Gods of Google) the old canes bear early summer (now) and the new canes bear late summer.  There should be lots of berries in my future since I have lots of new canes.  And I will know to NOT cut down the canes in the fall.  I've also picked a TON of snow peas.  Plenty have been given away since we cannot possibly eat that many, unless we give up eating peanut butter, oatmeal, potatoes, chicken, and sausages.  I've been squashing potato bug larvae, since it seems a couple of the buggers got away on me and MATED.  Bastards.  I've eaten a few cucumbers from the vines, and I found a new recipe for  Cucumber & Blueberry Salad that I will be trying.  I have some frozen cherries from the June crop so I'll use those instead of blueberries, until the local berries show up at the market.

Hmm.  I guess that's it for now.  Enjoy this friggin' heat.  Today the temp is forecast to be 31c but feels like 42c.  Yup.  Hotter'n hell...