Slogging along with the new computerized machine

Oh me, oh my...I am so tired tonight after wrestling with the Millie all day. The tablet froze twice today while I was going from one pattern to another, and I got some sewing done while I waited for it to wake up and move again. Last night, I got a call back from APQS and she was very nice and helpful, telling me what NOT to do in the future and where to look for help on line. I have been to all the sites and there is nothing there about a frozen screen. Sigh..Anyway, I am making slow progress on the big Amish looking medallion quilt while getting the next round of blocks for my quilt in progress.

162 HSTs all squared up and ready to go

Pretty trimmings for the dog bed brigade

Hmmm...getting too big for the design wall.

Some of the fabrics are really cute.
Mr Crow is looking at you!

Every quilt needs monkeys...

and dogs, tomatoes, oranges and snowmen!

Mr Wazoo had his nose to the grindstone, finishing two quilts today. He even took a few minutes to learn how to place a motif in a block with the Millie, and sew it out! Yowza!

I just can't fix his picture taking skills...
snowmen standing on their heads...

Panto: Flurry
The snowmen get faces now that they are quilted.

Soft batiks for a family gift

The customer put their names on it

Pretty fuchsia back, panto: Jacobean

After his quilts were done, Mr W was outside raking and watering. It is getting dark earlier so we have been eating supper at a more reasonable time! Tomorrow starts daylight savings, and I am looking forward to a good night's sleep...with an extra hour thrown in!

First custom finish with the new machine

I did a little dance! The first ever quilt from the new Millie is finished. It took a week to do, but I think it turned out nice. Most of the quilting is free motion, but the feathered swags and the motifs in the dresden plate centers were done by computer. I did add some echoing and swirls to fill the spaces better, though.

Lovely French General fabrics in a delightful setting.

The background fabric is taupe, but doesn't photograph the right color

There is a motif there, but it is hard to see on the busy fabric

A peek at the back

Mr Wazoo had another quilt with a wavy border. Poor lamb was just about pulling his hair out trying to keep the quilt straight. He did a grand job of it, then went out to play with the leaf blower and plant some flowers.

I like the lively pattern on this batik quilt. Its all half square triangles!! My favorite block unit.

Panto: Dazzle

I also finished the binding on the Crown Royal quilt, but forgot to take a picture before the customer took it home. 

The end of the workday was spent cutting squares for the next round on my quilt in progress. Light, medium and dark orange and orange red. Putting all the fabric away again took a half hour! I'm ready for some sewing...maybe tomorrow after work.

From this...

to this!

Tomorrow's project

                                      

Pup problems and computer headaches

Miss Molly has a bump on her chest that has gotten much bigger since I first noticed it after the last grooming. We went to the vet today and she has a tumor that has to be taken off. The needle aspiration was a mix of two suspicious cell types, so its best to get it off soon. She goes for surgery in two weeks to have it done. She doesn't seem to be sick or even aware there is a knot growing on her chest. Sweet girl.

Oh, Mama...don't let him hurt me!

Molly stayed under the bench for most of the visit.
Not a peep out of her for two needle biopsies and two shots!
That's four sticks, people! I would have cried!

The rest of the day, I helped Mr Wazoo with his wavy bordered quilt  while also working on the custom quilt I am using the computerized patterns on. I have finished the free motion sashings and fan blades, and have done two sides with computer motifs with some free motion to fill in the blank spots. I have to go to the laptop for a snippit of the directions, then back to the quilt to go through the steps on the tablet and sew the motif. I would probably be nearly done if I free motioned the entire quilt, but I am determined to conquer this thing!

The swirls are free motion, I did the blank areas today
and will take some pictures of the motifs tomorrow.

Mr Wazoo finished the quilting on the Crown Royal quilt, and I have to make and apply the binding. I will be a busy girl tomorrow, won't I?

All the purple bits are from the flannel bags

111x111
Binding will take a while...

Panto: Square Spiral

A peek at the soft but squidgy, slippery backing.

We'll be back in the studio tomorrow. So will Molly!

Odds and ends

Mostly odds... I worked all day doing invisible thread stitch in the ditch on a custom quilt. Mr Wazoo is quilting a HUGE Crown Royal bags quilt. Neither of us finished the task. I ran into problems with fullness in the borders, and Mr Wazoo's quilt back still wasn't big enough! You may remember my last post about the slinky sheets and making the back... seems I had the wrong dimensions for the quilt, and made the back too small. I unzipped it, made a new piece and sewed it to the side. Re-zipped it and he was off to the races. Unfortunately, this detour made my start time 11:30, and time was flying!
The new machine made me cry today. I am so bad at the Windows OS that it took forever to find the correct video for loading a partial-float quilt. Needless to say, I didn't start anything until after greeting two customers and logging in their quilts, and having a bite of lunch. Much quilting and swearing ensued.I finally gave up at 6:45.
What do you do when all has gone to the dogs? Look at old photos. Here is where the 'odd' comes in. Blast from the past pictures!
Here is the magazine from 1981 and the quilt My friend Terri and I made for a customer from the kit her mother bought way back when. It was a challenge, but we had a great time figuring out the very bad instructions and making the quilt together. I miss Terri. Mr Wazoo just quilted a tee shirt quilt she made...the one with the colorful sashing. Anyway, here are some old but nice pictures.

The finished quilt

The magazine she gave us to use for instructions

The next pictures are for your Halloween viewing pleasure.

The best dog costume ever!!

Fu Man Dechen

My scary (and slightly nuts) son, DIL and grandthing.

Oh yeah, how to you fix a broken pumpkin? With a pumpkin patch!! ha ha ha

Happy Halloween to you all!

Unusually warm Sunday sewing

 It has been record warmth for this area for a long time now, along with drought conditions bordering on extreme. The grass is brown, and the leaves turned and are falling quickly. Not the regular Fall weather. We spent the day indoors quilting, computing and sewing. Mr Wazoo started by quilting this customer tee shirt quilt. He will get it in the mail tomorrow.

The unusual sashing really makes this quilt special

Panto: Dazzle

First, I had to take apart a set of sheets (yes, I said sheets) cut the elastic and corners off fitted one, cut strips from the pieces and sew them to the flat sheet to make a backing 116 x 120 inches. You guessed right if you said, "I bet that's one big quilt!" It is. The quilter made it from Crown Royal bags. Purple and cheddar with purple slinky sheets on the back. Mr Wazoo is doing that one tomorrow on what used to be my machine. (the big Gammill) Lucky him!! I'll be starting this quilt with the stitch in the ditch.Then, I will use my spanking new Millie to do the custom quilting. I'm nervous already!

The light tan center stars are dimensional.

I managed to get the bindings applied by machine on the two charity quilts I previously quilted on the new machine, too.

Checkered binding here

Batik binding here

Last gasp of the day, I got out the fabrics for the next batch of HSTs for the quilt in progress. Ooooh, me likee!

I only cut a few squares before I had to go start supper.
These remind me of something...

Oh yeah...Fall!

Back at the top of the hill and ready for some cooking.