Time Marches On

Good morning, my friends. There are so many things on my to-do list and my might-do list, it's hard to keep everything straight. I've started making lists for myself, but I'm starting to think I need to keep a list of my lists. Who remembers the Franklin Day Planner? It was a casualty of the smart phone along with another planner I really liked, the Palm Pilot. I liked both of those because they had a designated to-do list where I could keep a lists of everything. And I know there are apps for that now too, but it would mean learning how to use them, and you know...old dogs. I started putting to-do's on my calendar days, but sometimes the list gets too long and I can't see it without hitting "see more." You know you're too busy when you have to "see more" just to keep track of things.

There was a pretty sunrise this morning. And, yes, it really was as red as this photo:

Backing up to yesterday morning, I stitched a good amount of July's Joyful Journey block. This one is called "Peace at Home."

It seemed like a good time to move my hoop. It looks like I'm about halfway finished with this.

If I'm going to have enough slow-stitching for our camping trip, I'm going to have to make up the next block for the Domestic Affairs quilt. And there's something I can add to my to-do list along with completing this week's Tiny House.

When I'd finished the embroidery, I still had about 45 minutes before I needed to get ready to leave for my haircut. I've found it's surprising how much you can get done in a small amount of time. I used that time to sew the binding strips together.

And then there were still a few minutes left to square up the quilt.

I'd hoped to get the binding sewn to the quilt later in the afternoon, but I was never able to get back to it.

When I returned to the living room, I found Smitty flaked out on his kitty tree.

As I was leaving, Mike was getting them outside for their morning run. Smitty barely had his eyes opened.

As I drove off, I passed Sadie on the driveway. She was a wide-awake cat on a mission.

After my haircut, I paid a visit to a quilt shop that services my mid-arm machine...also where I bought my mid-arm machine...in search of a ruler foot that would fit my machine. A very nice young man directed me to this set of feet compatible with my Baby Lock Tiara II. It was 25% off! Cha-ching!

So when I got it home, I did a little comparison. This is the foot I use all the time, and it's the one I was using when I broke my Line Tamer ruler. (Pauses to wipe away a tears. Sniff.) That's a practice piece underneath just to experiment. You can see the gap below the quilt where the ruler tries to slip under the foot.

So then I attached the new ruler foot. It has an adapter for the shank. Honestly, I can't tell much difference, can you? It seems the added height is all at the top and not below. Possibly there's some adjustment that can be made to get the foot lower, but I haven't really looked into that. Until I've had some time to sew with this, I'm not going to be sure it makes any difference at all. 

The set also came with these echo quilting feet. They're really just gauges that will allow me to line up the outer part of the foot with a stitched line or seam, and then echo along at a certain distance. They come in 3/8-inch, half-inch, and 3/4-inch sizes. Those might be useful. No rulers need be involved.

Okay, so until I use these, I won't really know if they're helpful. Fingers crossed I didn't just waste my money.

Next, I needed to make some Tart Cherry Jam. The cherries were already pitted. They just needed to be cooked down, jarred, and processed. My yield was 7 half-pints. These cherries were from our neighbors' tree, and so I gave them a jar. Included was a jar of the sweet cherry jam as a bonus. They can decide which one they like best.

It was nearly 4:00 by then, and it seemed too late to start sewing on the binding. I still needed to fill the bird feeders and water the flower pots. Besides, I was tired after all that. Hopefully, I can get the quilt binding sewn on today.

On today's agenda I have a pedicure, and so I'll leave around the same time. There is one errand to run after that, and so I'm hoping I'll have more sewing time later this afternoon. It would be good to get the quilt binding sewn on, but I'd also like to get the Domestic Affairs block ready to take along. And then there's that Tiny House to build. There's no rest for the weary...or the wicked...you can decide which one fits here. Wicked or weary, there's no time to waste. What are you doing to keep busy?