Preparation day

The quilting wound down today and the machines are clean and oiled. They'll have a break for awhile . Mr Wazoo finished up another of the 12 Christmas present quilts, and I finished up the charity quilt binding and packed them up for mailing tomorrow. He didn't get a photo, so you'll have to wait to see it.

Two for the team!

Ready to go to Florida.

The ladybugs came back with a vengeance and Mr W went to war with them again, stuffing more rags in cracks around doors and windows. I vacuumed 50 or so in the same corner of the bedroom (on my side, of course) and caught a bunch in the stink bug trap on the back porch. Oh yes, we are plagued with stink bugs, too.

These were between the window and screen where I look out when at my sewing table. Yuk! Mr Wazoo said the screen wasn't on properly and they got in.

Bugs...

The long line of quilts is slowly getting smaller. We counted 16 left to do when we get back from Texas. Not bad, considering we started with 30 and have been taking in quilts every day! 6 have been mailed off, and these are still waiting to be claimed by their owners.

We finally got the lime green bags again. I missed having them to cheer up my customers.
These six quilts will go home soon.

On the way upstairs, I took a few pictures because Fall has finally arrived. Some trees dropped their leaves out of sheer frustration, but the persistent ones waited for the cool weather to put on a show. Pretty soon, we'll have a fire in the fireplace and wear a sweatshirt when going outside. 

Fall is my favorite season. Pumpkins, that chill in the air, flocks of geese winging their way north, and the promise of two turkey dinners in the near future!!

Street view

Driveway view

My walk upstairs view

The burning bushes are really pretty! They're only a few  months in the ground, so next year they'll be even better!!

Mountain view from the front porch.

Needed foot rest...

I started the day with big aspirations, but standing on my bad foot for several hours picking out a load of quilting changed that plan. Two looooong rows of quilting had a tension problem that caused a mess on the back. Bah! Humbug!! It took most of the morning to pick out the stitching and another hour to line up and re-sew the bad places. By then, my foot was throbbing. I quit...for the rest of the day. Here is the finished quilt that caused my dilemma.

The world's biggest toe shoes!! 94 x 104"

Panto: Stacked Snailz

A look at the troublesome back.

Meanwhile, Mr Wazoo raced ahead with more of the quilts in the line...

Quilt number one for a Florida Customer's Christmas gifts

Pieced back. That's a lot of team spirit!

Panto: Square Spiral

He has quilt number two on the frame and will finish it tomorrow. He would have had it done today, but we had a bit of a catastrophe here. The ladybugs are back!!! They absolutely take over the house and cause a big mess. Mr W jumped into action and vacuumed up thousands of bugs that came in the French doors of our bedroom. I freaked when I came up to the house for lunch and there were armies of bugs crawling and flying around in the bedroom!! This happens every year, but the number of bugs seems bigger this year. Mr W stuffed rags along the cracks of the doorframes and swept the thousands of the critters off the sunny side of the house. They'll all be back tomorrow, but it looks better now.

Too bad the real ones aren't this cute...

I gave in to pain and have been sitting with my feet up watching a Christmas movie and catching up on paperwork and emails.

We cleaned out the fridge and will be eating the stuff that will spoil if we leave it here while we're gone. BLTs tonight! Back to quilting tomorrow!

Making hay while the sun shines

The sun was shining today, but we didn't see it. Our noses are sore from the quilting grindstone!!Get ready...I'm not kidding...this post will be a picture extravaganza.
Starting with the man of the month, Mr Wazoo. He has been quilting in earnest and making progress on the stack of quilts waiting in the queue.

Another of the 12 quilts for Christmas. This one for a special daughter who loves all things wolf.

Panto: Come Dance With Me. One of my personal favorite patterns.

This customer pieced all 12 backs. They are really nice.

I have to talk to Mr W about his photography skill. He cut off the unicorn's head...

That's better. Panto: Angel Wings

Pieced back, but different customer.

No, I didn't make this. My friend Terri made it for a little girl who likes pink!

She wanted Angel Wings, too, so Mr Wazoo quilted both while the pattern was on the machine.

Pink, of course!!
Terri was my very first customer when I started longarm quilting. She has trusted me through all the learning and growing, giving me her beautiful quilts to do. She and her companion where here last weekend! He took a photo of us at the restaurant.

Me, Terri and Mr W (and he is actually smiling!!)

Now, I couldn't be outdone by my employee! I have been busy at two machines, quilting like a mad woman. I was at a slight disadvantage, having to quilt custom and the really big quilts. Only one was simple, and that was the charity quilt I made yesterday. It was first and off the machine in no time flat. The binding isn't shown, but it is the red dot fabric. The Hawaiian fish quilt is also done, and the biggest pair of ballet shoes are in the process of being quilted.

Ta da! Doggies all quilted.

Panto: Time Warp. Don't you just giggle looking at the brown dog with the startled expression? ha ha ha

Dogs on the back. Is yours there? Mine's not.

She is too cute for generic dog fabric...

Here are the echoed fish

I gave them bubbles, too.

I had to quilt a bit on their bodies to hold them down. Lips, eye and a fin.

Another pieced backing. The quilt is for the customer's Mom who collected the  fabrics in Hawaii!!
Number 2 of 12.

Here is a mysterious quilt. What could it be? I'll have it finished tomorrow and you'll see.

My friend in Texas sent me a picture of my Dad at his ice cream party for his birthday. He turned 96 on the 23rd. We'll be there in a few days to have another party. You need a week or more of birthday festivities if you're 96!! Dad is the guy in the visor. He loves ice cream, and folks in the the park he lives in do, too.

More work tomorrow. Glass of wine tonight!

Dad loves ice cream. I imagine the hardest bit is choosing which flavor to have!