No Raccoons

I didn't make raccoons today.
I decided I needed to try to catch up a bit with customer quilts. Its hard sometimes to get everything done that needs to be done, especially when there are so many fun diversions calling me away. I'm supposed to be retired, but work still has to come first. Bah Humbug!
Mr Wazoo spent his day in the studio, too, so there were two grouches there. He finished this buzz-saw pattern quilt using a groovy pantograph called Fossil.

Batik buzz saw

Panto: Fossil

I worked on a custom job featuring sweet nosegays of common flowers. I like how it turned out, but then, how can you go wrong with a well made and visually pleasing quilt? The next quilt will illustrate what I do for a quilt to make it all it can be.

So pretty!

One of the flower embroideries

Quilting detail

a peek at the back

I don't think this customer does a lot of sewing or quilting. The fabric choices are really confusing, and the lack of any pattern to their positions in the quilt make it hard to look at for long. The seams were all different widths, making the squares mis-match up to an inch in some places, which in turn made the border undulate in and out along the edges. Oh yes, the back was pieced, too.

Looks better quilted

I started by repairing the places where the seam wasn't sewn at all, then used light sizing to super-press the entire top and backing. The choice of very thin polyester batting was also a challenge. When unfolded, it looked like the stuff you buy at Halloween to spread around to look like spider webs. This inexpensive batting is easily torn and needs to handled gently to avoid lumps and tears while quilting. On a happy note, the quilting went well and looks great; enhancing the quilt by adding some organic curves and swirls to an otherwise geometric quilt.

Panto: Featherize

two of the fabrics on the back

I took apart the binding sent along with the quilt, trimmed it to 2 1/4 inches wide, resewing it with mitered joins and applied it to the finished top. I have to do the hand stitching yet, but hope to have it done by the weekend. it also needs a label.
Whew!! Now, you know why there are no raccoons...

Tomorrow, I will be off to Cummng on the hunt for fabrics for a customer lone star quilt. Right now, I need to get the spaghetti started so we can eat before bedtime! ha ha
Later, peeps!