What Makes Me Happy?

 Earlier this week I was asked to pick a word that described or defined me. I chose JUGGLER. I've written about it before, but the suggestion made me rethink it, and I realized that I am happiest when I am juggling several things at one time, and moving forward with each thing. 

Now, don't get me wrong, if I have too many things up in the air, or if there are deadlines that are out of my control, or if my time is limited, then the juggling may produce stress, and that brings no joy at all. I do not thrive on stress.

But, this week I juggled a number of projects. I worked on cleaning up our lanai and front porch. The weather is perfect for sitting outside, and the oak trees are finished with most of their pollen production that results in a coat of yellow dust on everything! I worked a bit in the garden, pulling annoying weeds, removing some plants that didn't make it through the winter, and repotting and replacing a few plants to fill the voids. I wrote a letter to a friend; a real paper and pen sort of letter! And, I worked on quilting a few quilts on the long arm machine and sewing pieces of fabric together for another quilt. 

Working with the long arm machine has brought me the most satisfaction this week (I think!). I am getting to the point where I know what buttons to push to tell the machine what I need it to do. And I can do this without laying the manual out on the quilt next to me so I can follow each step, moving my finger along the text! Today I am finishing my "Pinwheel" quilt. I finished the top of this quilt two years ago. What I especially like about the finished quilt is that I changed it up to make it mine! This is the original pattern. 

I used fabric that I had purchased at Missouri Star, the publisher of the pattern, in 2016!

So, here it is 2026...ten years later, and it looks like I might actually finish the quilt!

Once I finished the quilt in 2024 I realized that I did not care for the open spaces in the middle of the stars. That's where I changed up the pattern! I ripped open the seams and inserted folded triangles in a way that made the four pieces look like a child's pinwheel.

I knew when I put those pieces in that I would have to be careful quilting around them. I didn't realize that I would be telling a machine not to quilt around them! 

Here's a closer look at the pinwheel. You can see how the foot and needle of the machine could easily be tripped up by the pieces of the pinwheel. 

Here's a shot of the computer screen and the block.

On the screen you might be able to see the red line forming a square, set on point.

That's where I told it not to stitch....

and it worked! 

I'll soon be on the last pass of the long arm quilting machine. Thus, I will need to roll the quilt up, one more time and realign the needle to where the quilt is now positioned. I'll need to redefine the edges and the bottom of the quilt, and push "Start". 

If all goes well....my quilt will be sewn according to the design!