Leap of faith

 At the Lace Day last week, I overheard a conversation about booking holidays abroad amid all the uncertainty, and one woman said 'sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith'. For years I have been promising myself a return trip to the AQS Quiltweek show in Paducah, Kentucky once I retired. (I was lucky enough to go three or four times when I was younger, the last visit being 2009, and absolutely loved it.)  So I've been looking at airfares and dithering ever since I retired in October.  Registration was opening Tuesday afternoon and they finally posted the class list a little while beforehand.  Looking through the offerings (which seemed much less than the huge list I remember on my last visit, but now AQS do several regional shows plus there's the panoramic going on), I was immediately seized both with nostalgia and excitement.  Some of the events I always went to are still offered (Women's Work is Never Done lecture by Gerald Roy, All Star Review, the Auction etc). I decided to go for it!  The UK has recently relaxed restrictions for tests on return to the UK so it's a little easier to go abroad as long as the country you're going to will let you in.  So I sprung for the fully refundable air fare even though it's the most expensive, just in case. I get the impression that Paducah is going to be a smaller affair than I remember - for one thing they've knocked down the Executive Inn since I was last there, and apparently the big tent that replaced it is in jeopardy due to the civic authority pulling its funding.  But it will be Paducah!  I'm excited.  In the old days, when it was hard to get so many quilting notions on the UK and fabric was fabulously cheaper in the US, I used to take an empty suitcase and absolutely fill it with purchases.  I don't think I'll be doing that this time, for once thing I probably wouldn't be able to manage a big full case on my own any more. Plus I'm trying to get rid of things and cut down on acquisitions.

I've been procrastinating about continuing to downsize things, in part due to the difficulty in taking decent photos in the gloomy winter months.  I've always struggled with lighting in photos, I'm no photographer.  But I finally decided to purchase some aids so after looking up what other amateurs are using, I went on Amazon to acquire two diffused box lights and a ring light.  I've had to squeeze a small set up into our attic junk room amongst the Christmas decorations, because there is literally nowhere else in the house with room to leave it all erected. But already I've taken photos and posted three framed pictures on ebay and some bric a brac on Facebook.  The lighting set up means that even without a window nearby, photos are coming out much clearer.  I read a meme on Facebook that said something along the lines of 'we spend two-thirds of our life accumulating, and then the final third trying to get rid of it all!'.

I've been quite virtuous this week about tackling procrastination.  Last weekend I finished putting together the Tilda Wreath Quilt while on another international Zoom call with Chooky and friends.  There were so many seams and bulky junctions from the multitude of small snowball blocks that it needed help. I invested in some Mary Ellen's Best Press starch alternative which I had heard good things about, so when that turned up I gave the quilt top a good spray and repressed all the seams which made a huge difference. It lies fairly flat now and looks like a quilt instead of a jig-saw puzzle. I chose some backing fabric from my stash and cut some binding strips, put it all on a hanger and added it to the queue of quilts waiting to be quilted.  There are so many now that the clothesrail is starting to buckle and I had to really strongarm the prior ladies along to squeeze this one in. One day.  DS is collecting momentum toward moving out in April so hopefully this year I will be able to put the quilt frame up in his office /the dining room.

After many unfortunate episodes in the past with overflowing scrap crates, I downsized to a small scrap bucket last year.  This was once again overflowing so I spent several hours ironing it all and chopping it up into useable sizes as per Bonnie Hunter's system.  It feels good to turn a crumpled mess into future potential, but on the other hand I rarely actually use the cut-up scraps since I don't tend to make tiny geometric repetitive pieced units like she does.  I've made a few tops and things though, so never say never.

One of the good things to come out of the panoramic has been the rise of virtual events and I've done several this week.  As well as Chooky's call, I 'attended' a lecture on the country house in the work of Jane Austen through the Historic Houses Association, a lecture on the subtleties of window placement in Japanese tea houses and the tea ceremony through Japan House, several modules in an online course about Japanese washi paper history and usage through FutureLearn, several modules in my second Scan N Cut course on Udemy, and a coffee morning show and tell with the Quilter's Guild. One of the great things about retirement, and being more or less stuck at home anyway, is that I can just sign up for things when they pop into my inbox. The computer is a real window on the world and so much easier (and cheaper) than trying to physically travel to a lecture or course.  Safer as well.

I should report back on the Organ Super Stretch Needles.  I'm pleased to say that these have stopped the skipped stitches.  I tried several samples such as sandwiches of Bosal foam/interfacing/quilting cotton, ditto with added zipper tape, sewing binding onto wool batting sandwich etc. - all situations where my machine had become unhappy - and they are all fine now. I did ask the engineer why the machine used to be fine doing all that and now wasn't, he said it could just be wear which although still within tolerances, was causing the occasional hiccup.  So if you're having trouble with stitch quality on bulky materials, worth trying the Organ Super Stretch needles.