Really!!!???

Really?!!?? More snow, and still snowing. I have work to do. No time to chat.

So much to do...let's shop instead

The retreat for the guild starts on Monday, I have to be there Sunday, and I haven't finished any of my preparations. What's a gal to do? go with the quilt buddies over the mountain because the shop is having a sale. Yup. I did it. On the way home, there were snow flurries and some flakes sticking to the trees.  Down at house level, no snow, but still cold. Was the trip worth a whole day of missed opportunity to get fully prepped for the demo and class I have to do? Yup again. I got some massive yardage of sale fabric for backings, some plaids for the class sample I have to do, doggie  fabric for a charity quilt and a cupcake roll (5 inch width of fabric strips).
Back at home, I had a couple of hours to kill before making supper, so I sewed the rows of the Nancy Mahoney Dot to Dot quilt together and trimmed down the bonus triangles from the block construction, and made them into a nice border. The original pattern has a piano key border, but I like to use up all  my leftover bits from the quilt construction if I can. The rows of four squares between the HSTs are the ends from the strip sets used in the quilt. I think it needs a red border, and maybe a black and white striped binding. Quilting has to wait until later since I now have customer quilts in the queue and am going away for almost a week of sewing fun.

Two borders to go and I will  be done!

Meanwhile, my son and grandson were driving along and saw this huge airplane parked by a Wisconsin restaurant. Who wouldn't have to stop and check it out?! 

If it's snowing, it must be guild day.

Last week guild was cancelled because of snow. When the schools close, we also close. It is that simple. In the mountains, where we don't have snowplows or snow tires, we rely on the weather people to tell us when to stay home. I just took Molly out for her bedtime wee, and it is snowing...again! Hopefully, it won't stick, but it sure is cold enough to make some ice. We'll see.
Meanwhile, I just wanted to tell you that I had fun today. I have to get ready for the retreat next week because I am teaching a class. You would think with three printers in the house I would be able to print my handouts. No way. Two are out of ink and the other keeps telling me there is a paper jam . I have gone over and through that machine and there is no jam. I fear I will be off to the nearest printing shop to have copies made. I did get the fusible marked with the cat templates for the students. That's done!

This is the sample I made a few months ago. I varied the cat types and added a small border to this one. It is truer to the original pattern.

I dug out this quilt I made for my sample back in 2008 for one of my retreats.
It was Halloween, so I used appropriate fabrics to the holiday.

The students get a break and won't have to assemble the patterns from sheets of paper.
I have traced all the cats and moon on Soft Fuse for them.

Yesterday was the guild yard sale. Everyone behaved themselves and no fist fights broke out! I am too slow, though. I wanted a rolling case one lady had for sale, and another (younger and nimbler) member got to it first. Rats! I did score at a couple of tables for things I didn't need, but really wanted.

Money changed hands and the members were happily shopping for bargains.

The tables were really well organized and it was easy to be drawn in by their wares.

Here is my loot. A giant ball of the curliest yarn that screams "hair" to me.
I don't know whose hair it will be, but I plan to make something that needs hair.
A big piece of jewel tone brocade. I plan to combine it with my gold obi brocade yardage and make something. And three ziplock bags of hand made lace and embroidered pieces. Remember the quilt from the Texas show? I want to try making one like that.

Close up of the brocade. It is a deeper green (like an emerald) in person.

I had to have this yarn!!

The double knit poly quilt is finished and I have been doing the hand sewing on the binding while watching TV. It will finally go home this week.

Ta Da!! (Excuse the photo bomb mutt butt)

It's a bit wobbly, but looks pretty good. I did a simple meander so I could keep it as flat as possible.

This backing from my stash is perfect for this crazy quilt. The binding is yellow.

Late in the afternoon I had some spare time, so I raided the stash and made a little charity quilt.

It is my go-to pattern, 2-3-2-6, and went together like a dream.
I finished the quilting at exactly 6:00!

The raincoats and umbrellas seemed the right choice for the soggy week we've had.

I used two fabrics for the back. The quilting is a simple heart in each block.
I'll get it trimmed and bound tomorrow.

I also cut the strips for my next project. I'm teaching a class in April and need to get a sample made. I picked from my plaid stash for this one. I hope it looks okay in the end.

I'd better stop blathering on and finish that binding job!! 

Everyone pray the snow is gone tomorrow.

A custom finish!

The custom job is finished, and I am planning what to take on next. I won't be quilting tomorrow because it is guild day and we are having our annual yard sale. There is always something to tempt me to add to my stash... We'll see.

Here it is. I think this is so beautiful, and well made, Too.

If you know my style, I don't quilt things really densely. I like quilts to be soft when I am done. I think my customers like that, too. Some show quilts are densely quilted, but totally useless for using. They are wall art, as far as I am concerned.

The feathered wreath in these blocks doesn't show well here. Click on the picture and you may be able to find it.

I switched from Big Gammill to Millie to do these triangle motifs because they are quite prominent on the quilt and I wanted them to be perfect. I don't quilt perfectly, but Millie does.

Here are the two blocks and setting triangles together.

The backing is really pretty. There are birds and flowers in the subtle print.

Today I spent two hours organizing and gleaning from my book stash. It is now organized so I can actually find the book I am looking for. The discard pile has ten books. Oh well, I tried.

This is a quilt I absolutely have to get done. I have had it in the queue for a long time and I need to bite the bullet and do something with it. It is totally made of double knit polyester hexagons. The seams do not go flat, so I am afraid I will make a mess of trying to quilt over them. I'm thinking of tying it, but not sure how to space the ties. I did make a jolly back for it, and will get to it first thing Wednesday.

On the Big Gammill I have this lovely French General quilt made by the same quilter as the one I finished today. It is giant, at 105 x 105". I'll contemplate the quilting while doing the stitch in the ditch.

Lillies and iris are coming up in Mr Wazoo's gardens. Today they had a long drink of water as it rained all day long. I took these photos yesterday on the way to the studio.

The butterfly bush has new growth, too.  Mr W cut it back severely in the fall to encourage this, so he got his wish. This bush gets gigantic in the summer and attracts loads of butterflies and hummingbirds.

Time for bed! Hopefully, tomorrow will be a nicer day.

A beautiful day for quilting

Today was sunny and cool. Perfect for Mr Wazoo to spend the day in the yard mowing and clipping and having a wonderful time. That means I was in the studio all day touching fabric and quilting!

Very first quilt, very first row...the seam wasn't sewn in one spot and the hopping foot got stuck in it and tore the patch. Rats!! It took a while to get it out, and then I continued quilting the row and thought about how to fix it.

Here is the finished Quilt of Valor, with the soon to be appliqued  bit in place.

The Panto is Simply Stars

Thankfully, the torn piece was the same fabric as the backing, so it was a snap to fix the hole.

After making the patch and temporarily glueing it down, I put a safety pin in it so I could easily find it again. It is sewn in now, and I will fix the quilting tomorrow.

The green parts of the custom quilt were first to be done while Millie worked on the QOV.

I also quilted this UFO charity quilt I found while cleaning up the cutting table.

I just did the meander Panto for speed and thrift of thread.

The backing is a really soft floral fabric I have had for ages. I made the binding and stitched it down while watching our Saturday night PBS line-up.

Here are some more green bits. The black floral has green stitched piano keys, too.

The only other excitement I had today was when I suddenly remembered at 6 pm that I hadn't taken anything out for supper. For the grand occasion, I went to Sicily's Italian restaurant and we had a delicious, hot, fresh take-out pizza! What a treat for me, because I didn't have to cook, and for Mr. W because he didn't have dishes to wash!