Happy Thursday! It’s a grey one here today. We’ve seldom seen the sun this week and it’s beginning to take a toll on me. I sure hope tomorrow is bright and sunny! Until then, it’s good napping weather!

I stopped by the quilt supply shop last week and I saw this book on the shelf. I have wanted this book for about a year because I love the quilts on the cover. I saw the author, Kathy MCNeil, on an episode of The Quilt Show and I was intrigued with her method. I decided to finally purchase it and I can’t wait to try any one of these pretty wall hangings. The book comes with a cd where Kathy demonstrates her method. I haven’t watched it yet, but soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I was finishing up my project for Quilter’s World this week, I saw a tip on the Handiquilter Facebook Page that was a huge a-ha moment for me! The black, plastic, side clamps on my long arm constantly get caught on the machine’s carriage. It’s very annoying and I have sometimes  not used the side clamps because of it. However, you really need them to help with the tension of the quilt. So some smarty pants came up with the idea of attaching the side clamps to a strip of fabric and then pinning the fabric to the quilt. The black plastic part is far enough away now from the machine that it doesn’t get caught! Brilliant! Genius! Bravo!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My planner came on Sunday and I have it all set up and it’s working out wonderfully for me. It’s the DayTimer binder with a magnetic closure. This is the desk size one which is about 5×8.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The inside cover has a space for your business card and some pockets, a pen loop, and a zippered pocket.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beginning pages are the monthly view calendars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next section is where it all happens! It’s the daily pages and it has two pages per day. So the left side has the prioritized daily tasks, an expense and mileage tracker, the daily appointment schedule. The right page has a space for writing daily notes and also has a quote. I am loving the two per page daily thing. I should mention that these calendar pages are the Franklin Covey ones not the DayTimer ones. I like the flow of the Franklin pages better. Also, only half the year fits in the binder. So the pages come in two packages – Jan to June, July to Dec. I still use my phone for all scheduling so I don’t mind that only half the year is at my fingertips on the paper planner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The back section of the planner has more pockets, a note pad, and a plastic business card holder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do feel this is the right system for me at this time. I like prioritizing and time blocking so this is perfect.

One more thing to show you all! At Christmas I picked out a new clock for the wall in back of my long arm machine. It’s helpful to me to be able to look up and see how much time I have left before I have to pick kids up or make dinner. Being a huge fan of photos, I just adore this clock!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each hour holds a photo and I can swap them out all year long. I currently have room for one more at 7 o’clock…I’ll need to choose one for that hour. Anyway, in a few months, I’ll switch them again! I ordered this from the Lakeside Collection catalog. They have a lot of neat things.

If you haven’t joined the Quilt Cabana Facebook Page, please do! Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=quilt%20cabana%20patterns

I know many of you are on both my personal page and this business one. In the interest of productivity and my sanity, I’m going to be backing off the personal page a bit. My feed is full of politics and negative energy that is starting to wear me down a bit. I’ll be concentrating my efforts on the Quilt Cabana page and also on Instagram. You can follow me there, my name on Instagram is quiltcabana.
Let’s connect in a positive, fun, and quilty way!

Have a great day!
Sandi