A Glorious day in Georgia

What a perfect day! Low humidity, warm breeze, sunny, birds flitting about...and me, stuck inside. Well, most of the day. I'm sure you all look out the window at work sometimes and think,"I wish I was out there..."  I do that, too.
But the work is there, and needs to be done. Mr Wazoo has earned his Employee of the Month for August! He quilted this tee shirt quilt and mailed it and one I finished, too. I'm sure he heard the siren song of late Summer, but did the work first. Good man!

Mr Wazoo did the center with a pantograph, then I custom quilted the borders

Panto: Fantasia

4 border treatments

Mr W did this tee shirt quilt 

Panto: Square spiral

Before going outside, Tim quilted this log cabin quilt

Panto: Fantasia

I received a bag of shirts from a customer who wants a tee shirt quilt made for her friend, who happens to also be her boss. No problem, right? Wait a minute...you want it when? Saturday. Like, day after tomorrow- Saturday?! Yup. For her birthday. Needless to say, I had to say it wasn't going to happen that fast. She is okay with that and said it would be okay whenever I get it finished. After she left, I began to cut and prep the shirts, thinking I could probably get it done over the weekend. Today, I worked to get the design going and make the rows (columns, actually). By 6:15, I was beat and had to stop.

The columns are ready to sew first thing tomorrow

After a day of cutting and sewing tee shirts, I did take the dog and tour the yard. Tim had finished his work and was watering the new grass and the flowers. The sun was low and a breeze was blowing. Everything smelled wonderful and green. We grilled some brats (bratwurst, to non-norskies) and had broccoli salad and fresh tomatoes.

Tim seeded the back yard and got the straw down

The late night bear came down the hill from behind this part of the garden.
 There is a little path there where he (or she) left foot prints.

Although the look a bit scraggly, the tomatoes keep on producing!

Chez Wazoo, Miss Molly and Mr Wazoo watering his new seeds

Molly, in front of the studio

After supper, what else but hand sewing on the never ending quilt repair. It will be done some day!

Taking in quilts, tying up loose ends and an anniversary

The day started with a customer pick-up, then a drop off, and then I finished the top to my pieced show quilt. It is a really simple pattern, but I think I will have a ball with the quilting!

Tula Pink pattern, I'm calling mine Alphabet Soup

The afternoon customer brought two quilts in for repair. Whoa! The smell was BIG and BAD! After she left, I treated one with Febreze and that did the trick. It is a trip around the world pattern with mostly plaids from early 1900s shirtings. I'll take some pictures tomorrow when the smell is less potent.
After filing my quilts with the registrar, I started the ribs for the anniversary dinner and  (gasp!) took a nap! I have been so tired, I couldn't function any longer. Molly and I lay down for an hour and that did the trick.
With an hour to burn before supper would be ready, I did the buttonhole stitching on the wall hanging I am making for my soon to be born grandson. I would like to have it finished and sent to them before they get the entire nursery set up.

Happy Families Neighborhood

World kids house

Ladybug house

Cat family house

Dog family house

Frog family house

Cow family house

33 years with Mr Wazoo, and still talking to each other! 33 years ago we were surf fishing in South Carolina and camping in a tent at the beach. Money was tight and time together was a precious commodity. Tim had two full time jobs and I was in my last year of nursing school, had four kids to take care of and worked part-time ironing clothes for a consignment shop. We've come a long way from there, but still enjoy the simple pleasures like sitting on the porch in the evening and watching the deer pass by. The kids are all adults with full lives and seem to be pretty happy with their jobs and their kids. 33 years later...life is good!

August 26, 1982
Just Married!

The new family group on our wedding day

Our family in 2013

Trying to meet the deadline

The guild sale was fun, and even though I said I wasn't going to buy anything, I couldn't resist. I had just enough cash to bring home a few nice fabrics and a few quilting stencils. Oh well, I didn't spend too much and came home happy.
This afternoon, I worked feverishly to get the blocks done and the rows sewn on my other show quilt. I have to have the registration and photo in by the 31st, so I needed to put the pedal to the metal and get the top together. Of course, yesterday I cut most of the pieces for the blocks, so it wasn't too difficult to sew them up today. Tomorrow, I will have the top finished and enter it in the show! How's that for speed?! I always work best when under pressure, and this instance is no different. I probably won't quilt the show quilts for a while, either, because I have customer quilts waiting. They will get done...just not this week!

This is what it looks like when I am working on a quilt...not tidy, but it works for me!

Individual block bits stacked and ready to sew

Ta-Da! The blocks are done and the sashing started.
Every block is different. I think you can guess what they are supposed to be...

I love using lots of bright, cheerful fabrics!

Time to tune in Lt. Joe Kenda: Homicide Hunter and do some quilt repairs.
Ta for now.

Quilting day at Wazoo

Today was a regular quilting day here at Wazoo. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, and everyone got along. (ha ha,there are just the two of us, you know...)
Tim quilted the center of a big French General fabrics quilt, and I had to take it off his machine and re-pin it on mine so I could finish the borders. I did the first one with his machine and it was so foreign to me, I just had to stop. I have become a Gammill Plus snob!! His machine is so much smaller than mine, it drove me crazy. All the winding the take up rollers was a pain. Tomorrow, I will get 'er done!

Tim did the center with the panto Feather swirl and I did the first two borders before changing the quilt to my machine.

I worked on smaller projects today, finishing these two little quilts for the same customer. The table runner is really nice. Great fabric selections and beautiful hand appliqué.

I did this runner

The maker does fine appliqué.

This wall banner is fun, but I hope it will have buttons or something over the eyes so the poor bunny doesn't look dead! It reminded me of cartoons where they have exes over the eyes to show the character is dead. A tad creepy. Otherwise, also nicely done and cute. I like the carrots best.

Easter Bunny banner

Easter egg for a tail!

I settled in after supper to catch up on So You Think You Can Dance and work on the quilt repair job.
Tomorrow is guild and I have quilts to return to their owners and more to pick up. Plus it is the yard sale. Oh dear, I hope I can resist temptation...

Meanwhile, after finishing work, I cut out the block pieces for my next project. Stay tuned!

Weekend happiness

It has been a good weekend, with Tim's birthday and some great strides being made on the quilting front.
I completely finished the top of my show quilt, and made the backing. It is now on a hanger, waiting with the other quilts, for its turn on the machine. I'm not sure when I'll get to it, but I am happy to be this far along.

Completed top

I gave the mama bird a worm for the kiddies

I have an acorn button for this squirrel to hold

I also have a dragonfly button to tease this lizard with

Tim quilted this Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt for a customer today. He said he hasn't had such a straight and perfect quilt in a long time. He was in awe that the quilt maker could make such a big quilt and have it remain true and straight throughout the quilting process; especially with the hundreds of small pieces. Well done, quilter!!

The perfect quilt

Panto: Small Splat

I bound the Burgoyne surrounded quilt I quilted yesterday and put it through the wash. It still had many dark stains after washing, so I soaked it for a few hours in a tub with Oxy Clean, then washed it again. Much better! Once dried, it really took on the look of an antique quilt. I think it looks perfect.

After supper, I bound a small patriotic charity quilt while watching The Civil War: The Untold Story, narrated by Elizabeth McGovern. It is really good, and tells the stories of Civil War era people while following the progress of the war. I have seen the Ken Burns Civil War series, too. They both tell the same story, but through different perspectives. It's on PBS.

Tomorrow, I will be quilting this table runner before putting on a large customer show quilt. That one should take a couple of days, at least.

Well, back to the Irish chain repair and the Civil War.