Frustrating Friday

The guild's sew-in at the library was today and I was all excited about going - just not sure what I was going to work on.  When I got up this morning and saw that it was raining, although lightly, I decided I didn't want to drag my machine and everything else out in it.  That's when I decided that I could take my last Vintage Tin block that needs to be embroidered ( by hand) .. no dragging of heavy machine and no need for all the 'tools'... just the block and some embroidery thread, a needle (or two) and thread snips or scissors.

Here's where the trouble starts..... I have kept all the fabrics and patterns in one plastic tote... refused to bring a block to work on at a reg. guild meeting because I have this horrible habit of losing things, especially important to me things ( like special recipe cards).  You catching on?  I went to get what I needed out of the tote... IT WAS NOT THERE.  No fabric piece with drawing on it, no pattern that was traced onto the fabric and no pen that the tracing was done with ( brown pigma pen).

I started searching this house from stem to stern - this quilting addiction has spread to FOUR rooms in our home and I had to search ALL of them... without any luck.  Then I remembered that I had traced the block at the sew in something like two or three months ago.  So now, I'm trying to remember what all I had with me that weekend and I was thinking that was the weekend that I had taken a tub of charity quilt fabrics so that Joyce and MaryJean could find a backing or two to use when they tied quilts together for us.  Then I started searching that stuff... some of it still sits on the end table in the living room... nope, not there.

The weather cleared up a little and I asked hubby to load my machine into the back seat of our car and I grabbed the other stuff along with a small plastic tote with a UFO project from exactly two years ago.  Off I went to the library but it was almost noon so I just sat and chatted with the three gals who were there.  One of them is also working on Vintage Tin and said that I could borrow her copy of the block pattern - next year.  I would take her up on it if necessary.

After we got back from lunch, I opened the little tote and spread the blocks out... looks like 12 out of 25.. nope, there's 16... oh wait, that one is a little smaller than it should be; I may have to remake that one... and oh look the block with flying geese flying four different directions... one of the geese split itself in half and both are going the wrong direction.  I took the three 'offending' seams out, but since my machine wasn't set up ( I didn't even take it into the building until after lunch - yes, it was that kind of day) I just pinned the two errant pieces together correctly so that I can redo them tomorrow.

Anyway, after wasting an afternoon, I came home about five and started thinking and moving things around in my fabric storage room in hopes of finding the MIAs... no such luck.  I even went so far as to move some things that are on the chair by my long arm... found another top waiting to be quilted but not what I was looking for.

Came out here to sit down at my desk and looked at the open boxes that are stored beneath the card table next to my desk.  They usually hold pattern books but occasionally other things get put in there.  Still no MIAs.  BUT then I noticed the tote bag leaning against one box and wondered why it was there.  I look inside and see plastic ( like what new sheets come in).. hmmm  what's that?  then I see some fabric that's cute but I didn't know where it came from - and right then, it didn't matter to me since it wasn't the MIAs.  Then I pulled out a paper - WAIT!!  what's this???  THE MISSING PATTERN!!!  I dug down further into the bag and found THE MISSING FABRIC PIECE and then I found the missing pigma pen along with three frixion pens that I had been using to draw diagonal lines onto the panels that are in the plastic bag.  The cute fabric was something that was culled out of a HUGE pile of fabrics that one of our members brought in for members to pick and choose and take home.

I feel so much better now.  Yes, I have more of the fabric and could have cut another piece and, yes, I could have borrowed the pattern from the other gal ( or even contacted the company and beg for a copy of just that block) but that wasn't the point.  Most of you know that as soon as you go and make/buy  a replacement, the original suddenly reappears.  Well, I don't need two of this block and I'm not in an all fired hurry to complete this quilt and knew that if I just waited a bit  ( and maybe said a prayer or two), it would show up.

Now, the question is.... am I going to take it to the sew in tomorrow and start embroidering it?  Oh H*ll no!  lol   I'm not taking any chances...  I've already put the pattern back into the tote... the fabric needs to be pressed before I baste muslin to it's back so it's on the ironing board... Once the basting is done I can start the hand stitching here at home.

And now I'm exhausted...calling it a night

take care....ttyl