Quilting Coup

Today, one of the ladies from the embroidery group come by to get the wool bins. To say she was surprised would be an understatement!! There were 17 bins and a big box of already felted wool, all trimmed and stacked in color coordinated bins. She was happy! Also, she said the Hugs and Kisses group could probably use the fleece I didn't get from the estate, so I said I would ride out there (again...) and pick it up. I had to go to town anyway to see the sewing machines I said I would buy. One of the estate ladies said they had three old kid sized machines in boxes. I asked what they were like, and she said they were black, dirty, and in wooden boxes. She wasn't sure they worked at all. I offered to buy them, and she said yes quickly. (fingers crossed my instincts were good and they were Featherweights!)

Here is what the estate operation looked like this morning. It had rained during the night and much of the stuff was wet. The fleece was well wrapped and dry!

Its hard to believe I had already gone through this stuff twice!!  And, I had removed  30 bins and numerous boxes of stuff!

There is some of the fleece, easy to get to and dry. There was another big box of wool, too.

 car was stuffed!!

I met with the estate lady and she showed me the machines, apologizing for how dirty they were. I kept my cool, looked them over and offered $250 for the trio. She was thrilled and mentioned a forth one that they decided was too awful to sell and was in the trash at her storage building. I said I would like it too, to use if I needed parts for the other ones. She gave it to me from the trash!! I now own four featherweights. Oh, snap!

1952 model. A bit grimy, but I oiled it and it ran like a top.

This 1939 model purrs like a kitten and makes a beautiful stitch! Some dedicated stitcher wore off the decals in the front moving her hands on the fabric as she fed it through the machine. Well loved, for sure.

Another 1952 model that was totally frozen. It took a lot of coaxing, but after oiling and some kind words, she sprang to life! There is a tiny problem with the needle position, but I think I can fix that.

This 1957 beauty is pristine and hums along like a champ. It came with all it's accessories and the decals bright and golden. I love it.

After I give all of them a good cleaning and polishing, I will use them and see which one(s) I will keep for myself. I have two friends who want one...but I am so in love, it will be hard to part with them. Give me some time and I'll decide what to do, but for now, I am in Featherweight Heaven!

Unfortunately, the garage is still a mess, full of bins, poly fluff, fleece and (yes) more wool!
I'll tackle this later... Now, let's have some more Featherweight porn!

A new adventure

I received a call from a woman representing an attorney in an estate liquidation. She had been given my name and number to ask about what to do with some fabric and supplies in a home of the client. I said I'd be glad to have a look and take anything our guild could use for it's charitable work. Mr Wazoo, me and our friends Kay and Henry drove out to the house and were absolutely flabbergasted to see fifty or so bins of fabric on the porch of the house. It took a minute or two to grasp the enormity of the task ahead, while we questioned the ladies hired to clean out the house about the quantity of stuff. We opened every one of those bins and found ginormous  yardage of double knit polyester fabric. Bummer. Fortunately, there were also numerous bins of pristine wool, just waiting for someone to felt and use in appliqué quilts! We snagged the bins of wool, some doll making supplies, muslin, old sheets and some balls of cotton rope, and beat feet back to the house. I had just dropped off fabric from the last donation at my day guild, and now, I have twice as much in the garage again!

We left behind twice the amount we took away from the client's home.

26 bins of stuff, a couple of boxes and a few bags.

Oh, yeah!!

Maybe someone will use this poly batting. We don't use it here at Wazoo.

Stuffing for the dog bed ladies.

I'm going back there tomorrow with our friend Dennis to look at stained glass stuff. The woman has lapidary supplies, plaster molds and firing kilns, paints, stretched canvasses...you name it...she's got it. I'm just happy I am not a professional house clearer like those great ladies!! Woo-ee!

After a break to rest my back, I sewed a bit on the black and white animal quilt. I really like how its coming along. I hope to get the rows sewn together before the weekend. My Daughter is coming for Labor Day , and I want to have some fun without worrying too much about work.

So far, so good!Oops! I see one of the leaves is turned wrong. I'll fix it tomorrow.

Mr Wazoo put the finishing touches on a quilt he started yesterday, and the customer picked it up as soon as I called her. It is for a friend who spent time in Africa, and she wanted to make something that would remind her of that part of her life.

The quilt is a modern twist on earthy colors

Panto: Rotorua

The texture on the back is awesome. Good job, Mr W!

Don't you love the elephant print blocks and border? I sure do!

At 6:15, I called it a day and walked up to the house. The colors in the garden were glowing in the afternoon sun, so I had to stop and take a few pictures.

Looking at the front garden, you'd never know Fall is just around the corner.

What?! This poor lilac is a bit confused. It is the only late summer bloom on this shrub.

The back porch pot is in its full glory.

Not many blooms in the back, but the bird houses are colorful!

Back at work!

Nobody here at Wazoo took the day off from work. We quilted and listened to tributes to John Mc Cain, war hero and patriotic senator from Arizona. It was a sad day for America.
Mr Wazoo finished a  few quilts, and then spent some quality time with his gardens.

The line up was seasonal for Mr W. This Autumn quilt was the first one he quilted.

Beautiful panto: Come Dance With Me

Next is Christmas! Ho ho ho!!

A cheerful Santa quilted with the panto: Snowflakes

The whole quilt is cozy flannel

Spring has sprung! This quilt mixes a soft floral background with shades of blue.

Panto: Trellis Vine

I love the backing fabric on this one.

I started with two king sized quilts and they got smaller from there. One customer didn't have backing, so I bought some at the Bernina shop in Chattanooga for only $29!! Wide backings were 60% off! I spent a wad of dough there and am now flush with wide backing. I worked on a couple of other projects while the APQS did its magic, and I think I am certainly getting my mojo back.

The first quilt had some open seams and wobbly intersections, but it turned out okay.

Panto: Dazzle

The customer chose a sheet for the backing.

This customer told me that she started a lap quilt and it just grew from there!!

Hard to see the panto design: Beauty

Here is a peek at the $29 backing, a soft Moda tone on tone calico.

Here is the pile of backings I got at the sale. Except for the one I used on the quilt!

Then there was this! Fanciful and ethereal mermaids.

Panto: ripples

Better seem on the back.

I also started a custom project. I think this is one of the most beautiful quilts I have worked on. So far, I have done some of the stitching in the ditch and around the appliqué. Its slow going, but makes the finished quilt look so much neater.

The quilt has piecing, appliqué and hand embroidery, all in blues.

Over the weekend, I started a new quilt project using the Thicket panel I bought in Oregon last year. I designed a quilt in EQ and I'm changing a few things on the fly because I just couldn't make the math work. Quilting should be fun, and doing all that math and getting screwy answers made me frustrated, so I changed it. So there!! It is a work in progress, and as soon as I get the pieces-parts together, I'll put it on the design wall and see how it looks.

Busy making some block parts.

The panel parts are all framed with a gray linen look fabric.

Some alternate blocks are also coming together.

These blocks are ready for the design wall.

Meanwhile, I would be remiss not to tell you how Miss Molly is doing. She has a cast-bandage on her foot and thumps around pretty well with it. We go back to the vet tomorrow and see what's next. Her toe has been sutured where the toenail used to be, but the Vet says it may grow back and have to be dealt with in the future. We're glad she's okay, even if the pain meds make her goofy. 

Posing and looking pitiful.

Resting for a moment on a finished quilt.

The last thing that happened to me tonight was almost walking into another spiderweb! The darn spider weaves his web across the back porch and,unless I am quick to see it, I walk through it and then look like a berserk windmill trying to get it off!! Soon, the cold weather will come and I will only run into webs inside the house...

EEEEEEEEK!!!!

Oh yeah...this goofy couple just celebrated 36 years together. Thanks for tuning in. See you tomorrow!