Daughter on the road, quilt on the frame

Our girl is on the road. Like any parent, I am worried about her taking such a long trip (over 4000 miles!) by herself, but have to trust she will be careful and aware of her surroundings. She called from the hotel after the first leg of the journey and said the hotel wasn't in the best neighborhood, and that she wouldn't go outside until morning. We texted back and forth during an especially bad Hallmark movie, easing some of the anxiety she was feeling. Tonight, she should be at her Grandpa's house in Texas, and enjoying her aunt and uncle, as well. No matter their age, we still worry about our kids.
On the home front, I quilted the second Quilt of Valor and Mr Wazoo packed them up and took them to the Post Office for shipping. This one was a bit of a quandary as it was just big pieces of fabric sewn together. I decided it needed a more complex quilting pattern to make it more patriotic.

The top was well made, but a little blah.

I used the panto, Freedom, in contrasting gold thread to give the quilt some character.

Nice backing with eagles.

After this, I spent over an hour pressing and trimming threads from a huge quilt and backing for a customer. Usually, my customers are really good about trimming and pressing, but this one was particularly bad. I used my brand spanking new Best Press I bought the day before, and in the end, the quilt looked much better. It isn't square, has many problems, but I think it will turn out okay in the end. Bless her heart for trying something so big and complicated! I hope I can make it pretty.

At the end of my day, I snapped a picture of the quilt, finally loaded, with the quilting underway. Miss Molly photobombed again...she's such a Diva!

During the movie, I had a text from my daughter in law with a quick shot of my grandson. We put these silly glasses in his stocking on Christmas, but he wouldn't try them on then. I guess he changed his mind. A little levity made my worrisome evening a bit easier. I love my weird family!

Little Dechen in disguise!

I think you can see where he gets it...my son, goofing around in a party store.

Plugging along

Yes, I have been remiss in posting here, and I really have no valid excuse other than what I have been doing is pretty boring. The last week or so, I have been trying to get some repair work done on the two quilts I have had here the longest. I would really like to get the trip around the world one finished and back to the owner. There are many squares still to be done, and the edge finish has to be repaired, too. I did almost all of the front of the large patch quilt, and should have the back done next week.
While I do this tedious hand work, I run the APQS with pantographs. Here are the quilts I finished since the last post.

This beautiful quilt was made by my customer and friend Gail. Her sense of color and pattern placement is genius.

It is a very big quilt, but is also perfectly square and flat.

I used the panto, Stacked Snailz, and wool batting really shows the quilting nicely.

The colorful circles on the back are perfect for the quilt.

Gail's second quilt features black and white with triangles!

The triangle panto is called Take Five, but is difficult to see on the front.

The quilting shows up a bit better on the back.

Mr Wazoo has been quilting steadily during the rainy weather we have had lately. I hope there will be some sunny days soon, as he is getting quite grumpy! He has to be able to putter around outside to be happy. And, if Mr W. ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!!

Here is a good use of strings! I love the colors, especially the random strip of lime green!

Panto: Alfresco

The backing shows off the quilting pattern well.

It was obvious to me that this quilt is for a pre-teen girl!! Unicorns, pink, purple and some sparkly fabrics, too.

The panto is Celebration.

The back is a lively mix of fabrics.

Here is a sedate sampler brought to life by the choice of fabrics. What could have been dull is now dancing with bright colors.

Panto: Featherize

The backing is a pretty marbleized mix of the top's fabric colors.

Mr W also jumped in and quilted a Quilt of Valor for me.

Panto: Ribbon Stars

The backing color is not this grayed. It is a nice, patriotic blue.

I mailed my quilts for the Florida quilt show this week, and hope they get there safely. I'm always a bit nervous when we drop them off at the Post Office.

Ready to go!!

My daughter is here tonight on the first leg of her journey to her new home in Portland, Oregon. I have sure enjoyed seeing her more often while she was in Charlotte, and able to visit us. Now, I'll have to plan a big trip to the west coast... If the sun comes out, I may even get Mr Wazoo to go, too!