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!

Monday, Monday

 Today was a great day. I think I finally caught up with traveling and entertaining exhaustion, and I was ready to rock and roll. 

I spent the morning juggling things in my sewing room. By the way, did you know that I can juggle? When I was in my 30's a young man taught a juggling class at the rec center, I think he may have been 14! I had always thought juggling would be fun, so I took the class. I refused to pay for juggling balls, so I filled some of my kids' baby socks with rice and used rubber bands to close the ends. I folded the 'cuff' over the ball and ta-daaaa - I had juggling balls. I finally got so I could do it. I had my mishaps. I clearly recall practicing in the kitchen and having a ball (sock) plop into a cooking pot on the stove! I entertained my 5th graders by juggling eggs. Juggling them was not problem. I didn't drop any. But, when you stop juggling, two objects end up in one hand.... and catching an egg with one already in your hand is a certain disaster! I finally bought a set of "joggling balls". These each weigh one pound and the idea is that you work your upper body by juggling, while you work your lower and get cardio by jogging. Hah! I can barely do either one of the activities by itself, let alone trying to do both!

I worked on piecing one of the larger squares of the Bonnie Hunter

"Lupine & Laughter" mystery quilt.

I ironed more pieces of the mystery quilt.

I put pieces for the State Challenge quilt in a project box.

I've been experimenting with colors and patterns,

and I'm very excited about what I will be putting together. 

I need to collect a bit of fabric before I can really dig into this project. 

But...it's a secret! I can't tell anyone my state, 

or what my plans are.

The Citrus Crackers group has a mystery quilt project that is just beginning.

I collected the required fabric for that project

and found an empty project box to house it.

I still need to cut the fabric into strips before March.....

that shouldn't be a problem!

I played Mahjong in the afternoon and came out ahead, 

winning a whole $1.10 over the $3.00 that I began with!

You can tell that we play for high stakes! 

And, upon my return, I finished piecing the last sections of 

Bonnie's quilt, and will begin assembling it next!

I have two puppies by my feet that are trying to use their telepathic cues to get me to feed them. They are so very good about this. They rarely bark at me. (That doesn't mean that they don't bark!) They don't demand to be fed at exactly "this" hour or minute. They just wait patiently, staring at me with those deep, dark eyes! 

My Daily Reflection:

• What are you proud of?

• I'm most proud of completing the large blocks of the mystery quilt, and I look forward to getting them sewn together. 

• What did you enjoy?

• Walking the fence perimeter, checking for escape avenues for the dogs. It was sunny and so much warmer than the past few weeks.