A Quilts of Valor day

We were biding time until we go to NC tomorrow, and quilted up some Quilts of Valor. Even Mr Wazoo had a good day! We finished the three QOVs for the guild group, and then did whatever we wanted to do. A good day!

I quilted this one

Panto: Simply Stars...my favorite QOV pattern

Wow! That's a lot of stars!!

Mr Wazoo quilted this one.

He used gold thread and the panto Square Spiral.

This one is really pretty.

The butterfly bush finally has butterflies! Can you spot three?

I am really moving along with the triangle applique blocks. I have three more to finish.

Well, three...and one bit of stem I missed on number four.

These are finished!

We'll end the post with St. John's wort. I don't get why someone named it that, because I think its beautiful. Ponder that.

I hope they don't get any bigger!

Today I quilted one quilt. I started loading it at 11:45 and unloaded and trimmed it at 6:10pm. It was that big. Wow. Fortunately, it was pretty square and three out of four borders flat. Because I have the Millie, I was able to do some machine applique at the Bernina while computerized machine chugged along on the giant quilt's rows. It turned out nice, and someone will be kept really warm at night! The batting was a thick cotton, and the quilt weighs a ton.

I have to applaud the quilter for the amount of piecing she did on this project.

It didn't all fit in the straight-on photo, so I took a profile, too!

Panto: Woven Wind

The best part for me were the Minions on the back!!

Mr Wazoo stayed inside most of the day quilting a QOV for me. He thought it was supposed to rain again, so he opted to quilt.

Once again, he took a wonky picture. It is a lovely quilt, but the photo was taken with it upside down. This quilt was also made by the quilter who made the giant quilt I did today!

Patriotic backing

Panto: Square Spiral

I remembered to take the panto and backing shots of the memory quilts. They are going home next week.

The bigger quilt (with Travis Tritt) got the panto Twinkling Swirls.

The doll quilt was a quick meander.

Here are the cute birds I used on the back.

Tomorrow we get the house in order, take Molly for an overnight with Winkie, and prepare for the speed trip to Southern Pines, North Carolina. We'll see Tim's sister and her family as well as the many people his mother touched during her 30 years teaching at the same Christian school. I was lucky enough to work in the classroom next to Pam for seven years before going off to nursing school and my whole new life adventure. I met Mr Wazoo after I had already been friends with his Mom those seven years. We've been married for almost 38 years now, and I have been so thankful to have Pam as my mother-in-law. We will miss her; but she is joyfully singing with the heavenly chorus now.

Some more finished quilts!

It rained today and that is perfect for working in the studio. I finished the two sided clothing quilt, and its sidekick doll quilt. I hope they go home tomorrow.

Travis Tritt staring out from a bevy of bright blocks

The doll quilt. I forgot to take a picture of the back of it. I used a little bird print.

This is the backside of the big quilt.

This poor gardener sat waiting for a break in the weather to plant his new shrubs

At least he didn't have to water anything...

The sun came out, and so did Mr Hummingbird!

Not a bad picture from an iPhone!

I'm not sure what type hummer this is. I have to look it up.

I also quilted a Quilt of Valor and Mr W sent it back to Tennessee.

Someone will love this quilt

Panto: Simply Stars

Easier to see here.

I'll be back in the studio quilting a giant quilt tomorrow. While I do that, I hope to get some of the applique done, too. The show is looming and my quilts aren't ready!!

Nose to the grindstone!

Not many pictures today. I spent the day in the studio prepping clothing items for a customer memory quilt. There are a few tee shirts and a bunch of unrelated tops and dresses. The customer's daughter passed away and she wants a small quilt for her granddaughter to remember her mother by, as well as a doll quilt for the little girl's dolly. A really sad story. I guess Travis Tritt was the daughter's favorite, so his tee shirt (with his signature on it!) was requested for the middle of the front. It will be two sided, so there will be another quilt on the back. I hope to get the front finished tomorrow, and then tackle the back-quilt and the doll quilt.

The first three rows and the side rows next to the picture are also sewn. I'll sew in Travis and finish the last four rows tomorrow. Then I'm on to the back.

I added some bears to my challenge quilt.

Every Georgia mountain quilt needs bears!

A couple of days ago my Wisconsin friends and former classmates got together for lunch and sent me a photo. I wish I could have been there (especially since they met at Culvers!!) and shared in the fun. I was working (of course) and sent off my picture via text to join them. I'm thinking I need a road trip to see my friends and family in Wisconsin...

This is a wonderful group of people!

I was in the studio, quilting and thinking of them.

Back to work tomorrow.

Moving on

Yesterday, I got the challenge quilt as far as I could, and snapped a photo. There are a couple of things I still want to do to it, but those can wait. Today I will run the registrations over to the registrar with one day to spare! ha ha ha. There's a first for everything.
Quilting later!

Moon over Misty Mountain

Another tee shirt quilt, and racing to the finish!

I made another customer tee shirt quilt, and have one more to go. The customer requested a throw sized quilt, so I left out the vertical sashing and borders to keep it throw size. The calico flowers are from a chambray shirt the recipient of the quilt applied as embellishments. I left on the breast pocket, too!

First, I prepped the shirts and arranged them on the design wall.

Loads of sewing and appliquéing later, the quilt was ready for quilting.
Here it is, all done. I bound it with the same lavender fabric as the sashing.

Because the quilt had raised embellishments, I did a free hand meander for the quilting.

Backing from the sale rack at my local quilt shop. 

A member of the guild finished this top and lamented she couldn't get it finished for the show. I quilted it for her, added the sleeve, label and binding, and now it's ready for the show. Sometimes, we just have to give our quilting sisters a bit of a boost!

It is a pretty scrap quilt that will add sparkle to the show floor.

Panto: Splat

A peek at the back.

On Sunday, (my personal sewing day) I worked on my challenge quilt for the show. It is the final entry, and I will be relieved when I have it sewn together and photographed. Then, I need to quilt three of my entries!! Oh well, at least they're ready for photography.

                                  

I had an idea to make a round quilt for the challenge to echo the moon shape. The plan is to make a moon over the mountain block and insert it into the mountain design. I plan to make the dominant color blue, to look like dusk in the mountains. We'll see how this goes...
I am NOT an art quilter, and have a learning curve to conquer.

I pulled a bunch of fabrics and worked to choose the right ones for what my vision is.

After pressing the pattern pieces to the chosen fabrics, I trimmed them down, adding the 1/4" seam allowances to each one. Here they are, after pressing and before trimming.

There are nine sections and the moon over the mountain block. The detailing of the mountains and clouds will be appliquéd on to this background. The last step before quilting will be to scribe and cut the circle shape. I hope it all works!

Mr Wazoo comes out of the bedroom every morning to find the skeleton pillow on the floor. He wondered why this is. Here is the culprit...

In the evening, after Mr W goes to bed, Molly and I enjoy some TV. She likes to burrow under the skeleton quilt and stay there until the last trot around the yard before going to bed. If you look closely, you'll see her little eye in the gap at the left, and her rear end and tail sticking out on the right side of the pillow. When I announce "Let's go out!", She pops up, knocking the pillow to the floor. I leave it there and go to bed. Mystery solved! Silly dog...