Saturday, July 25, 2015

Humming along

The last couple of days have been arduous for me. I have been cutting up the shirts and pants for the three memory quilts, and it seemed I would never reach the end! Bonnie Hunter makes it look like it will be easy...it isn't! Kills the cutting hand and arm.
By the end of the first day, I had the shirts and jeans deconstructed.
day1
I cut all day on day two and still had a pile of shirts left to do.
Day 2 and I still have that pile of shirts in the background...
Today, I finished cutting!! Yippee! The block sewing will start tomorrow.
All done cutting. I hope I have enough for three quilts...
Mr Wazoo has done his duty in the studio, too. He quilted all day yesterday and did a large project today before being excused to go outside and do some mowing. He loves to mow.
table runner
pretty Chinese coin quilt
Panto: Come Dance With Me
I love this quilt. Cute, fresh bird fabrics
Panto: Alfresco
I'm almost at the end of another quilt project for a customer. It seems Grandma made this top from old shirts, feedsacks, tea towels and a tablecloth. Nobody quilted it and it sat  for a long time becoming dirty and stinky. Enter Grandson, who is getting married and wanted the top made into a quilt for his new home. Mom washed the top and brought it to me to finish as a surprise wedding gift. It isn't pretty by most standards, but it is precious to him. I started by fixing the holes and open seams, giving it a good press with Best Press and steam, then added the border and backing, quilted it and put on the binding. I wish I had taken a 'before' picture because it looks 100% better now! Bridegroom will be thrilled. Quilting always makes me happy. I am very happy tonight!

Grandma quilt
It was a pretty big quilt
Panto: Small Splat
Soft checked backing

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Not drowning yet...



Wow! The last couple of days have been busy here at Wazoo! Quilters are finding us and we are all too happy to help them out. You already know about the two antique quilts I am restoring and finishing. The binding is done on the Irish chain and I am now replacing the worn pieces by hand.
Hand work for the nightly TV time.
Today, I got an order for three memory quilts to be made from a man's shirts. I love this kind of project because the quilts will be keepsakes for the family forever. Plus, the shirts are pretty! That helps. I will 'de-bone' them tonight a la Bonnie Hunter.
Two bags of shirts and pants for memory quilts
Another customer came today with a commission for a wedding quilt in the lone star pattern. She had a comforter she wanted the quilt to look like, and I am happy to see it has big pieces and wide borders. She likes the calming effect the minimal design has.
This is the comforter she brought as the inspiration.
The new quilt will be in blues, sage green and some tanish gold. The background will be a dark cream color. She gave me some snippets of fabric she really would like me to try to find or come close to, so the hunt is on!
Meanwhile, I finished the HUGE quilt with the nearly impossible pantograph. Mr Wazoo and I have decided to retire this panto. Thank goodness! My right arm is really in pain. I was able to do two rows at a time and then take a rest. Killer panto!! Turned out great, so I guess it was worth the struggle.
Big (104x113) quilt finished and ready to go home

To get the idea just how big that is, here is the view from the back of the table.
I think the designer drew every leaf known to man, Panto: Falling leaves



The quilting doesn't show well on the back
Mr Wazoo quilted today, too, finishing up a quilt from yesterday and starting on another. He did get a few minutes of yard time until the sky darkened and it poured rain."Good for the grass!", he exclaimed.
MrW's finish
Panto: Swirl and Twirl
After work (ha ha ha) I fused the last block for my applique quilt. Where the pieces are loose, they will have things from the border or the next block overlapping.
Lizard block
Blocks ready to sew together. Borders next!!
I have one more binding to do on a charity quilt, and then they will all be ready to give away. Between my sister and me,  we finished 11 charity quilts this month!
Ready for hand sewing
Life couldn't be better! Spicy black bean burgers on the menu for supper. Yum.











Monday, July 20, 2015

new and happening at Wazoo

We had a great weekend and are now hard into the week with quilting here at Wazoo. Mr W has been busy with his assignments, quilting in the mornings and working in the yard in the afternoons.








I finished this pretty bargello on Saturday, and mailed it to its home in Florida today. It was one of five quilts sent to their owners today!





I worked on my sister's quilt yesterday and this morning, finishing it around lunchtime. Yippee!




Then, I started this HUGE quilt for a Georgia customer. It is 104"x114" and she chose a busy pattern of all different kinds of leaves. The rows so far have taken a full bobbin each to complete! Wow! I am always happy to see the end of the quilt come up off the floor...I should be able to get it done tomorrow.


All work and no play would be deleterious to my health! After finishing for the day, I cut the pieces for another block of my applique quilt. I know it looks sparse, but there is a fox on the quilt who overlaps this block.


This will be my after work fun tomorrow!
























Sunday, July 19, 2015

Late night binding marathon

I finished the binding for the Wisconsin quilt while watching police dramas on the tube. I put the quilt on our queen sized bed to see how it looked, and I am satisfied with the result! It will be mailed to it's new home tomorrow.
Front side

Back side


Mr Wazoo worked in the studio as well, and got the two tee shirt quilts finished so they can be mailed, too. Then he went out to play, and had a great time spreading mulch on the back rock garden. It sure is nice to look out the kitchen window and see plants and rocks instead of red clay with rivulets in it. Thanks, Tim!




My next 'sitting project' will be this antique Irish chain repair. The customer wasn't sure it was worth fixing, but it only has frayed pieces on the front, and they are confined to the white patches. I had her consent to cut off the trashed white border, and after doing that, I added new binding. Hopefully, this will be helpful when the repair begins. I have the pieces prepared, and now, just have to applique them in. An evening, TV watching project.





Today, I will be in the studio doing some custom quilting. It's looking gray outside, so Mr Wazoo might be there, too...we'll see!