Saturday, October 1, 2016

Another week in the books

Both Mr Wazoo and I have been working in the studio this week, and we are making some headway on the long line of quilts in the queue. Mr Wazoo would rather be outside in the glorious weather we have been having, but soldiered on and will be rewarded with two days of yard work this weekend. The quilts I have to do keep me so busy, that I will never be caught up; but that is really what we want here at Wazoo...endless quilt projects! Let's take a look at what happened in the last few days.

Mr Wazoo started with this pinwheel quilt

I love how the close-up shows the sweet lily of the valley fabric. Panto: Swirl and Twirl

I quickly quilted this rush project for a customer whose best friend has cancer and
is being released from the hospital for home care.

We used Quilters Dream Puff for the batting, because the customer wanted it to be soft and lofty.
The puff batting really shows the definition of the panto, Basketweave.

The customer cut her backing the same size as the front, so I added a pattern of
blue and brown fabric to make it big enough to quilt on the Gammill.

While Mr Wazoo quilted three table runners, I tackled three small quilts with oceanic themes.

This collection of fabric with the whale and heron theme is really
attractive made into a lap quilt.

Panto: Seashells on the whale backing

Another sea themed collection, this one with mermaids and whales

The customer requested seashells on both her quilts

I don't know if these are gifts or not, but they are all quite pretty!

Each one is done with gold thread and a different leafy pantograph.


The Christmas themed one has the Holly Berries  Panto.

My customer's friend made her quilt the same as the other one, but I quilted it with a
windy and wavy pantograph, Quirky.

Looking good!
Before quitting for the day, I put on a top I finished a couple of weeks ago. Years ago, a customer brought a box of blocks and block pieces to barter for quilting. There were enough strips and already made blocks to make a good sized quilt, so I did the deal and got the box. On a Sunday, I made more of the blocks ( I think the fabrics are from the 50s or 60s) and sewed the top together. I picked up the toile fabric at a recent sale for $4 a yard! Yippee!! This will be a utility quilt for the guest room.

I went for a more modern setting, kind of like broken dishes or pinwheels,
depending on how your brain sees it.

A modern nod to the past with the Texas Fan panto.

Here's a look at the great red and white toile on the back.
Today, I will be quilting a really big block of the month quilt. I think it will be an all day engagement... See you on the flip-side!


Wednesday, September 28, 2016

A rough day in the salt mine.

Today started out with Mr Wazoo asking me to look at the quilt he was working on. He had hit a snag with the quilt and could not go on. Well, he was correct! The quilt was way off kilter, and he had gone too far to correct the problem where it started. Sigh... I took the quilt off his machine and tried to figure out how to fix it. I ended up removing the border, taking in several seams to reduce the fullness,cut the border down to fit,  and then sewed the border back on. I got the quilt loaded onto my machine and quilted the rest of the center, then did the requested feather treatment in the outer border. I am surprised at how well it turned out! Saving this pretty quilt was worth the effort.

The quilt is a nice block of the month pattern.

The customer hand appliquéd the center block

Panto: Alfresco

The feathered border. The very small jog in the triangle is where I had to take a little seam in the quilt. The customer said to go ahead with whatever I thought was the best fix.

Pretty back, too!

While I worked on the BOM quilt, Mr Wazoo quilted a strip pieced lap quilt. I love the scrappy look, and the panto made it even nicer.

Great size for couch snoozing

Panto: Come Dance With Me

A peek at the back

I finished up the other 'horse blanket to throw' commission, and started another quilt  repair after supper. I hope to finish that quilt tomorrow.


Slightly different backing, but still has the patriotic theme
the customer asked for.





SaveSave

Monday, September 26, 2016

Getting the job done!

Let's get up to date here at Wazoo! Yesterday, I quilted and bound all five dragonfly quilts for the Blue Ridge Guild. I'm so happy to have this out of the way. Some lucky little children will love these quilts.

Pretty pretty!!
Today, we jumped in and worked hard to get quilts out the door and more commissions done. I worked on the two horse blanket throws commissioned by a customer who shows horses. Taking the decorative braids and hardware off was a singularly difficult task because the fabric of the blanket is a double knit with a brushed backing. I had done another quilt for the same customer, but with a lovely felted wool blanket. Everything went smoother, without making holes in it, and the blanket was a success. I finished one completely, and the other is on the machine and ready for quilting tomorrow. The customer wanted patriotic backings, so I chose these flag fabrics for the task.

Blanket number one, all done!

Flag backing
Panto: Square Spiral

The second horse blanket ready for quilting

Mr Wazoo started with this little quilt, made by the sister-in-law of the customer. The backing is soft and beautiful.

Pretty little baby quilt

Panto: Angel Wings

I wish you could reach into the screen and feel the softness of this backing. I love this!
After  lunch, Mr Wazoo quilted this lap quilt for the same customer as the baby quilt. It is also soft as a feather and drapes beautifully.I wish I had made it...


Love this quilt!

Panto: Dazzle

The back is another very soft brushed homespun.

Tomorrow is another day, and we will be working happily to quilt for our customers. My job is a dream, and I hope I never wake up!




Sunday, September 25, 2016

Sewing day

I spent most of yesterday sewing the dragonfly blocks into quilt tops. The ladies in the Blue Ridge guild provided enough blocks to make five quilts! As you know, I finished two the other day after work. Yesterday, I decided to sew up the remaining three quilts and get them out of the way. I will get them quilted and bound today.






Mr Wazoo differed this quilt to me, due to the complexity of the quilting pattern. I really like this pattern. It has a Zen like flow to it and I can breeze right along with it. To each his own. He is so good at other pantos, I just did it without much of a fight, but he did blow his Employee of the Month award. Oh well, there is always October!

Oh, Kaffe, I do love your fabrics.

Panto: Modern Twist
I used this same pattern on my Kaffe quilt with the chevron stripes, remember?

She used this yowza of a Kaffe fabric on the back.
An all around stunning quilt.
Mr Wazoo quilted this strippy, scrappy oriental feeling quilt. The fabrics have a bit of gold in them, so he used gold thread.


Panto: Swirl and Twirl
After Some Sunday morning breakfast, its back to the studio and quilting, quilting, quilting!