Christmas season kindness

We have been quilting like mad to get things done on time, and have only a couple of "hurry-ups" from anxious customers. All in all, I feel good. I felt even better after a relaxed evening out with friends. A couple we know from Florida took us out to dinner for a Christmas present, and it was the best thing they could have done. Mr Wazoo enjoyed himself and loved the southern style food. We chatted and laughed and just had a really good time. Thanks, guys!!
Here is why we needed a break...

Drum roll please!! Number 12 of the 12 quilts of Christmas is done!

Panto: Modern Twist

Pieced, non-Parisian back

We're talking HUGE here. This is the biggest quilt of the season for me.

See how it swallows my 12 foot long table. Wow.

Panto: Wandering Daisies

Pieced backing, encore.

This is a Christmas gift for a customer's husband who has retired after teaching in colleges and high schools for 50 years!!

Panto: Woven Wind

Pieced backing once more.

This is a Christmas gift for a newly adopted granddaughter of the customer.

The fabric is sprinkled with angels blowing stars and bubbles from their trumpets, and Bible verses from the Christmas story.

Mr W quilted it with a sweet hearts and swirls pattern.

A beautiful gift from a Grandma to her specially chosen granddaughter.

Long day in the studio

Mr Wazoo went on a day trip to visit his 97 year old Mom in South Carolina today, leaving me to hold down the fort . Molly and I settled in at 9:00 and I quilted all day with out a break. I listened to George H.W. Bushes funeral service while I worked, and thought it was a lovely tribute to an exemplary man.
The customer came for the wedding ring quilt, and was pleased with the quilting. Whew! I worked on the big white quilt while doing some custom quilting on a quilt I had set aside to do the wedding one. ( If you followed all that, you are very bright!)

The quilt is very elegant. I would probably never make one, but I think it is beautiful

Panto: African Samba

White on white backing. I'm guessing no kids, no pets...

I made another pile of half square triangles for Mr W's quilt during the quieter parts of the funeral, but don't think it will be ready by Christmas. Too many quilts, too little time left to do them all.

Christmas is looming and there is shopping, cleaning and baking to be done before it gets here. We have quilts to finish for customer's Christmas, and I'm wondering how it will all get done. I need to go to bed!!

My mother-in-law, looking a bit peeved at her son for taking her picture.

Mr Wazoo, his mom, and his sister... looking a bit happier.
I have known her longer than I have known my husband. We used to teach in classrooms next to each other years ago. Who would have guessed I would meet him one day and live happily ever after?!

Another finish and the grand finale for the wedding quilt

I put in another long studio day and finished the double wedding ring quilt for my customer's daughter. Now I remember why I had decided to NOT do custom anymore... Oh well, I have three to go, so I'll go back to no custom jobs when they're done. I have spent a week on this quilt!

Ta da! The customer did not want quilting on the colored parts of the quilt. Also, she didn't want feathers everywhere, so I did a leafy pattern in the centers and melons. I'm not wild about them, but she should be happy.

One border treatment

One corner. It is perfectly square, but looks wonky because I am holding it out for the picture.

Bottom border

Leaves and ditch stitched arcs

Top corner, (taken upside down)

Cream batik backing

Yikes! I dislike plain backs...they show all the wobbles and mistakes.

While I did the free motion quilting on the wedding quilt, the computerized machine helped me finish another Christmas quilt for a customer. It is all flannel and very soft.

Pretty autumnal fabrics in a rail fence setting. Nice!

Panto: Twinkling leaves.

It has this cute puppy backing, too. What's not to like?!

Mr Wazoo quilted number eleven of the twelve quilts of Christmas today. He will be gone tomorrow visiting his Mom in South Carolina, so we'll have to wait until Thursday to celebrate them all being completed. Here is number eleven.

Same pattern, different fabrics. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! All the quilts are pretty, thanks to her selection of Kaffe Fassett fabrics.

Panto: Flower Festival

A pieced back, but not Paris this time.

At the end of the day, I loaded my quilt for tomorrow. It is a pieced quilt of all white fabrics, with a white back. The customer made this for her daughter, who selected the color palette (or lack of color palette!). It is obvious the girl does not have dogs or cats...and is very clean and tidy. I'm sure it will be lovely, but I'd be afraid to have it on my bed. One of the fabrics is a soft white corduroy.

The classy snow white quilt.

My faithful servant posed by the wedding quilt before we quit for the day. She is such a good girl, waiting patiently for the work to be done so we can play fetch with her lamb toy. She got her wish after supper, and is now resting quietly before going to bed. Life is good!

Quilting with a new brace!

Yesterday, I quilted for 8 hours in the new foot brace. Things went well, and I am optimistic about continuing. Thank goodness I am hopefully out of the boot!!

Yippee!! I can even get a shoe over it.
I like colorful socks. Probably one of the few things  Bush 41 and I had in common. He was a loving, honest family man and a patriotic American. Something lacking in the current White House. He had integrity and empathy, as well as a sense of humor. I may not agree with his politics, but he was a great man. I pray for his family and friends who profoundly feel the loss. 

But, I digress...Here is the brace with my shoe off.

As you can see, I took the pics while un-winding after the day of quilting.

Both machine were called into service, the custom wedding ring quilt is moving along slowly to completion, and another of the 12 quilts of Christmas is history. I think we will have the last ones done today!! The customer has been picking them up as they are finished, and she will be here today for the four we have ready.

This quilt is for a lively person, for sure!! I love the colors together, and think it is wonderful.

Panto: Flower Power

Paris on the back encore.

Rolling, rolling, rolling...keep the quilt a rolling. Crack the whip! I'm hoping to finish it today.
You older people will get the reference...

Mr Wazoo also quilted a 12 quilts contestant yesterday, but he didn't take a picture yet. We'll get it in the books and out the door soon. We are steadily making our way to the Christmas finish line.

Sweatpants, paper towels and quilting

We finally bit the bullet and went to Walmart. I hate going to Walmart. Mr Wazoo and I both needed stuff that we can only get there. When you live in a small town, Walmart is probably the only store for miles, so you do your shopping there. The man needed new sweatpants, we needed paper products, wreath hooks and some other sundries, so we ventured out. The store wasn't packed, so we got our stuff and beat feet home.
The rest of the day was spent quilting (for me) and blowing leaves off the driveway and yard (for the yard man).
There isn't much to show you, I just thought I should check in and write something. The stitch in the ditch on the wedding ring quilt is completed and I have barely started the actual quilting. It took all afternoon to get this far. The quilt is rolled back to the top and I am on my way to the finish line! Stay tuned!

After the stitch in the ditch was done, I rolled the quilt back to the top to begin quilting.

It's a big one, too! Molly knows when the work day is over, and she's ready to go home.

Yesterday, we quilted a couple of Christmas gifts for customers. Mr Wazoo did another of the 12 quilts of Christmas, and I did a dog and corduroy quilt.

Dogs and black corduroy. Nice pattern!

The panto, Dazzle, shows well on the corduroy.

A peek at the back.

Mr W did a complicated panto on this simple quilt. It helped to jazz it up a bit.

Panto: Forest floor

The backing was also pieced, for a two sided quilt.

More quilting tomorrow. I plan to have all three machines humming, if Mr W cooperates. Christmas is coming!