Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Although the ferry was late leaving for Texada on Friday I was over in time for dinner at the Texada Inn. I find it amusing that the Texada Inn replaced the Texada Hotel (which burned to the ground) but there is not a room to rent in the whole building. They have a large restaurant and bar but no rooms.

I headed down to the workshop first thing Saturday morning but I waited until Pat brought a load of wood down before starting a fire. It only took a few minutes (and a few tries on my part) to get some fire going but there was smoke coming from the back of the stove so we put the fire out and we’ll wait until the installer comes back to check on it. Once the weather proofing has been done I’ll rearrange the furniture so my chair can be closer to the fire. I’m not sure where everything on the “sewing side” will go but I’m in no rush to figure it out.

We had a fire in the studio all day Saturday but Pat returned to Powell River on Sunday morning for a show he had booked at the pub. I was in the workshop most of the day and I was warm enough in the studio Sunday night. Monday morning it was very cool in the studio- down to 18 degrees. I thought about turning on the furnace but thought I’d best get used to lighting fires.

I didn’t have too much trouble getting a nice fire going and by the time Pat came back the studio it was warming up. I’m a little surprised the fire worked as I was following the instructions for the stove I have in the work shop. I knew how to lay the fire, but it was the position of the dampers that I was using the book for.

The other thing that makes being on Texada like camping is that we have to check the traps for mice – in both the studio and the workshop. We haven’t had a lot (and we’ve yet to catch one in the studio) but I’m nervous enough that I make a lot of noise before opening the door of the workshop. The fellow doing the weather proofing in the workshop will also work to make it rodent proof.

In the meantime, I’m getting a little tougher!

Friday, September 13, 2019

I attended a Quilting with Rulers class at the Guild today, but the adventure started quite awhile ago.

When the idea of quilting with rulers first surfaced I purchased a set of template rulers along with the ruler foot for Ruby. I used the rulers just a bit on my Celtic Crystals quilt; I wasn’t very good at it and I never put in the time to practice. So I thought a class would help.

But before the class started I had to be sure my ruler foot was right for Pearl. Turns out Ruby uses a High Shank foot and Pearl uses a Low Shank foot. So I ordered the proper foot for my class machine.

When Pat was on Texada and looking for my templates he mentioned that the bag they were in said something about high shank rulers. That got me a bit worried and I got the news today that not only is the sewing machine foot different for the high and low shank machines but the rulers are also different. There was no way I was going to put out more money for another set of rulers for a machine I wasn’t really going to use all that much for quilting.

The entire morning was filled with lectures and demos and then, after lunch, we got down to business. Some of the rulers I can use with Pearl and some I can’t. No matter. My intent is to take one ruler and learn how to use it properly and then move on to another ruler. I did a bit of playing around on a practice square this afternoon and I think I’m getting the hang of it but, like free-motion quilting, it is going to take a lot of practice.

And that is what I intend to do this weekend on Texada. I have a quilt that I’ll use my 12″ Arc ruler; I asked which of the rulers was the easiest to learn and this is the one the instructor picked. The quilt is one I planned to keep for myself so it won’t matter so much how it turns out.

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

I have a lot to get done today, and most of what needs to be done is preparation for the next few days and the weekend. But before starting the prep work I got the recycling sorted, the laundry started, and some weeding done in the yard.

I need to do some prep work for my Guild class on Friday. My sewing machine needs to be cleaned and oiled and a new needle installed. I also have to put together a few quilting sandwiches to practice my ruler work on. Fortunately I have a few extra blocks from my Disappearing 9-Patch that I will use for that.

I also need to gather together everything I need for a weekend on Texada. Originally I thought I would drive over myself but Pat is going over tomorrow so I’ll do a walk-on Friday afternoon (and walk-off on Monday). I won’t be able to carry much with me so I need it ready to load into Pat’s truck first thing tomorrow morning. I keep a container handy that I throw things into that I think I’ll need; when I’m actually heading over I need to review what I’ll be doing and pack accordingly.

Friday afternoon, after my ruler class, I’m meeting the contractor for the Hall to sort out how the accounting needs to be done. I have a plan in mind but I think I need to do some spreadsheets for him to fill out. My understanding is that, beyond texting, he isn’t very computer-savvy.

So I’d better get to it. But first I need to swap my load of laundry and water a couple of plants on the deck.

We’re off to the movies tonight – the first one for me since February!

Monday, September 9, 2019

My friend Gail has been working on a fabric de-stashing sale for a few weeks. On Thursdays she is kind enough to let Jessie and I have a first look at what she has put out for sale. Tomorrow the sale will start for the general public but she said I could come over today and have a look at what she had.

I started thinking about what I could make that might require new fabric. The Guild challenge this year is a circus theme and I’ve already picked out an elephant appliqué that I will use. I only had one suitable fabric for the elephants (I want to use grey florals) so that went to the top of my list. Sadly I left the list in my purse so forgot all about this fabric; I’ll look again on Thursday when I’m there for sewing.

Next I thought of the Jen Kingwell pattern I plan to start when Stacia and Deloise and I go sewing in October. I dug out the pattern and it doesn’t give actual fabric colours but it mentions neutrals and small prints. I was able to pick up a number of lovely fat quarters and neutrals that will work.

And I’ve had my eye on some really nice blue fabric for quite awhile but never really had anything in mind for it. I decided I’d get enough for a 3-Yard quilt; I had a bit of trouble finding the patterns that Stacia and Deloise picked in Houston but eventually found them in my computer filing system. I picked up some red that will go with the blue and I’ll add a third colour from my own stash.

Once I was thinking about the October sewing trip I started thinking about all the prep work that is going to be required. I bought a quilt pattern at CQA in Vancouver that I need to cut the fabric for, and I have a Cake Recipe (a technique I’ve never used) that requires some neutral fabric to be cut. The Jen Kingwell pattern makes use of templates so there is a lot of work to be done before I can even think about colours and colour placement, but having some of the fabrics is a start.