What a day!

It's been a fun, funny, laugh-filled day, due largely because of the very reason I've been detached for the past several months. Which seems to make no sense at all, so let me explain you*.

Back in mid-November, somehow, for some reason I got sucked into Kitboga YouTube videos. I've no idea why the YouTube algorithm recommended his videos, but it did and I clicked on one and I'm forever grateful. The fact that I was actually-factually scammed nearly 10 years ago (Craigslist, for a couple-thou), and almost-scammed a few years back ("Amazon fraudulent charges" scam) probably had a lot to do with the fact that his videos instantly resonated with me (plus the fact that he--or perhaps his eyebrows--is/are as cute as a button). After watching one and laughing my way through it, I wanted to see and hear "my" scam and reconstruct the steps that led me, an intelligent woman, to the point where I was standing in my nearest grocery store staring at the gift cards, this close to spending thousands of dollars to replicate the "fraudulent charges" (to include a porn subscription--a key element to the social engineering of this scam) on "my" Amazon account. (Yes! I did due diligence and checked my actual Amazon account on another device. The scammers had an explanation for why I wasn't seeing the charges, which seemed plausible at the [panic- and shame-filled] time. IYKYK)

From Kit's videos I was introduced to several more scambaiters and I started following my faves on Twitch, a platform I was kinda familiar with because my eldest streams there. And eventually the live streams and the YouTube videos of these scambaiters became, in the vernacular of a generation or two before me, "my stories". So I was filling my days with Kit, Bull, Varenikki, Deyo and a random selection of others as I planned and trimmed and cut and sewed and quilted my way through project after project over the past 7+ months.

So here's my apostrophe (as promised): The streams and videos had filled my head for entire days/weeks/months. In the past I've had hours upon hours of silence in my studio in which I could create my own narration of my day, a narration I wanted to share and get out of my system. But now, I had another story filling my head, so no blank space to fill. Therefore, I had no story to share with others. It took a quiet half-hour in the car with some reflection time to come to that realization. I don't begrudge the time listening to these streamers--I've learned a LOT and have shared their information and my own experiences with others who are just as, if not more vulnerable than I--but I'm glad to pinpoint what the turning point and reason was between blogging/not blogging.

As for today (the title, after all)? Thursday is my most-looked-forward-to day of the week because my two favorite scambaiters stream back-to-back and they did not disappoint today. I was laughing so hard I was literally aching. I don't just listen, by the way--I've got my own game going on throughout. When I hear a scammer say, "Do one t(h)ing", I drink a mouthful of water and prompt the streamer to hydrate as well. When I hear, "Each and everything", I treat myself to an M&M. *"Explain you/me" earns me a salted peanut. Some days I'm nearly drowning. Most days I've snacked myself all through the afternoon with no need to stop for a proper lunch. It's a thing--it's my thing. And that's where I've been since November.

So...

...let's get onto quilting, shall we?

I got into strippies in a big way this Winter and Spring (more on the whys and wherefores later) and this is my first completion: 

70"x90"

Back, also 70"x90", strangely enough 

Close-up of the novelty fabrics...

...and of the bone stipple quilting:

I used this thread to quilt with, and shortly afterwards threw everything remaining of it into the trash. It did not age well (I could easily break it with my hands) and it wasn't a pleasant experience quilting with it, AT ALL. I don't blame the brand, but rather the age of the thread. I simply held onto it for too long.

This will be donated to Sleep in Heavenly Peace.