The mouse man and other interesting subjects

 The mouse man came on Friday and now we have an ongoing contract for mouse elimination. At first, I thought I was being a bit cruel, but when I was sorting a stack of my quilts, a shower of dog food pellets fell out all over the place! The stinking mice had taken Molly's food and hidden a stockpile in between two quilts. I cleaned up the mess and looked over the quilts to make sure the mice hadn't't damaged them, then put all the quilts away. Now when I am finished for the day, I have added the task of emptying her bowl into a zip lock bag until the next day.The mouse man also put two cardboard box traps down to catch the striped lizard who has also taken up residence in the studio. He says it will take a couple of months to see the end of the mice, and then it is a maintenance thing.

Okay, what else? I finished the quilt from the day before, and it is beautiful, as usual. Kind of shabby chic!

Pinks and grays are a lovely combination for this type of quilt. Soft and feminine with a modern edge.

Panto: Frolic

I really like this backing fabric, too.

A customer came with a challenging proposal, to fix, quilt and finish seven tops her great grandma made. They had been stored in a box at her grandma's house for years, and when her grandma passed, she found them when sorting her stuff. They are all wonky and stinky and some have unsewn seams and some damage. I agreed to take them on, and spent the remainder of the day pressing them with starch. 

There are two of these, as if great grandma thought if she tried again they second one wouldn't  be wonky. No way! These are the worst constructed of the lot. I will have to ponder how to get them under control enough to quilt.

Here are the first four of the lot. I ironed the last three today and they are all on hangers waiting their turn in line. Some need repairs and some need a border of some kind. All that will come later.

Logging in the last of the quilts before the ironing is done.

Pressing one of the machine pieced tops. Three were hand pieced (including the two swirling circle ones) and four are machine pieced.

I worked on another big quilt while I wrestled with the tops, and ,as usual, had one row left to do at quitting time. Too bad, so sad. I finished it today and moved on.

One row to go...but supper was calling.

This morning, I finished the quilt. It is a bright and fresh looking star, using modern prints.

Panto: Splat

Turquoise backing.

I finished up two of the borders for the bear wall quilt, but the other borders will have to wait until I have some spare time to make them. Maybe tomorrow.

The pattern didn't say I had to cut down the size of the panel, but there isn't enough fabric to make more of the border pieces to make them fit. I'll figure it out later.

This quilt was next in the line. It was made for the family of a quilter who succumbed to cancer.

Panto: Maple winds

There was an extra block that they requested be made into the label. Here it is, after I cut it down to a manageable size. I will appliqué it to the quilt tonight while watching a movie on Netflix.

The panto shows well on the back, which is much darker than in this photo.

The next quilt is one of two featuring pets! One has cats and the other one, dogs. I was only able to get the cat one done today because the dog one's back wasn't (you guessed it) big enough side to side. It had enough length, so I cut off from there, re-stitched the pieces and attached them to the side. Voila! Big enough. I will quilt it tomorrow. Meanwhile, enjoy some Christmas kitties.

This is a clever way to highlight a panel. The on-point blocks frame it nicely.

Panto: Snowfall

Christmas lights on the back.

I'll be doing hand work tonight, as well as trying to get the newsletter done. Happy Birthday to Mr Wazoo, who was favored with his favorite dinner of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and lima beans. GAG!! I made myself a patty melt and am a happy camper! See you tomorrow.