Inventory

 The year 2020 is coming to a close, and I have taken an inventory of what was accomplished this year at Wazoo. I was surprised by how I could track Covid by the number of projects people trusted me with during the year. From February, with only 7 customer quilts, to August, with my all time high quilting number of 45 quilts in one month!! July and October both had 39 quilts done. I knew it was busy, but even I am impressed!

The final counts are: 311 customer quilts quilted, and some were also bound. 19 Quilts of Valor quilted. 43 Repairs and commissioned quilts done. Plus, I made 34 quilts both for charity and for family and friends. 18 went to Family Connection in Blue Ridge, 7 were gifted to family members and friends, and I kept 9. I also went through my quilt stash here at home, and donated another 5 quilts from there.

My favorites? Hard to pick one from each category, but I will show you what I think.

My favorite customer quilt is this one. The number of different fabrics used and the precision of the piecing and the appliqué of all this circles blew my mind.

It was a huge quilt

I custom quilted it with a motif in each circle, changing thread colors with the colors of the circles

Finished, the customer was pleased.

The backing is perfect ct for the project.

An all around wonderful quilt!

My favorite Quilt of Valor:

This quilt is a beautiful tribute to a veteran's service.

Someone took a lot of time and skill to make this lovely star sampler.

My favorite commission job was the quilts made from a mother in law's saris. Each quilt was gifted to a family member of the woman whose saris were used. It was a fun challenge, and I think they turned out wonderfully.

This quilt is all made from one fabric! Turning the silk in different directions changes the color slightly. I used the border of the fabric for the quilt borders. The lightweight silk was stabilized with fusible interfacing before cutting and piecing.

I was asked to make two child quilts from the second sari for a set of twin granddaughters. The silk was again stabilized and then I used the elephant print from the fabric as the inspiration for the design.

I cut the elephants from purple fabric and appliquéd them onto the quilts. Each elephant has a different blanket on his back so the kids will be able to tell their quilt from their sister's.

I found elephant fabric for the backings, too.

The second twin quilt.

A different print on the back

For an older granddaughter, the customer requested a wall hanging . I stabilized the silk and carefully cut the different patterns from the sari. I made the center medallion from sari fabric and a blue fabric from my stash.

The inner and outer borders were cut from the sari's border.

The blocks in the second border were fussy cut from the sari fabric.

As far as repairs go, this one is my favorite job. Not because out is the prettiest one...it sure isn't that! I chose it because of the touching story. It was a wedding gift 75 years ago, and the 'bride' wanted it repaired so they could continue using it. The couple has used this quilt all those years. It was made by her aunt. My customer and her husband are in their 90s.

I know there are a lot of pictures, but it shows the progress over months of making the pieces and appliquéing them in place and hand quilting them. Washing the quilt gave it new life.

The repair took months, but was worth it to make this couple happy.

Choosing my favorite quilt that I made is easy; it is the shabby chic quilt I gave my daughter for Christmas. It was a challenge for me because of the fabrics selected, but I knew it would be lovely in the end. There are many pictures, but it shows my thought process and how I progress with the construction.

I put it on our bed for a picture before sending it to Wisconsin.

There you have it, my year in a nutshell. The only thing ng I didn't add was the many masks I made for friends, family and the local nursing home staff. There were over 100 made and handed out. I kept four for Mr Wazoo and I and they have been washed and worn for months now. I hope to see the end of Covid in 2021.

the only real PPE wearer is my daughter the P.A.

My daughter in the army had to have black masks

This is how I have looked to all my customers these many months. Covid free and staying as safe as possible.