Yee Hah! Back in the saddle.

After 24 hours, I am feeling myself again. Wow...note to self, don't eat something that has been in the fridge for over a week. I flooded myself with fluids and even took a break during the day to rest! Fortunately for me, I am better. Nothing stops the quilting machine that is Wazoo.

I am so happy to have the last of the custom jobs in the queue done. The embroidered quilt is beautiful and I'm excited for the customer to see it.

The customer made this years ago from a kit. I remember those catalogs with quilts similar to this one, and have had the privilege of quilting a few of them. This one is especially nice because of the care she took with the embroidery. The sashing are a bit off, but the focus will always be on the wreaths of hearts and flowers.

I followed the printed quilting lines as requested by the customer. From there, I filled in with my own feather, leaf and daisy quilting.

I'm usually not a fan of polyester batting, but in this case, it is appropriate to the kit's age and adds needed dimension to the quilt. I like it very much.

The backing is a little thin for my taste, but shows the quilting nicely. Overall, this is a lovely quilt.

The customer with the three too small backs came while I was resting, so Mr Wazoo handled the transaction. Rats! She dodged the bullet of my lecture on making the backing big enough to load and quilt comfortably. Next time...

The only other quilt finished yesterday was this princess one, replete with glittery borders and fabrics showing all the different princesses of story and film. Some little girl will be thrilled.

The quilt is appropriate for a long twin, coming in at 69 x 102! The assortment of different fabrics makes it a sweet and pretty project.

Here, you can see some of the different princess fabrics. 

I used a panto of butterflies and did the quilting with a pastel variegated thread.

Familiar backing! I think someone else had this backing recently. 

Remember when I said the hydrangea reminded me of clouds? I noted the same thing at the end of the day when I snapped these  pictures!

Here is the bush, loaded with full, fluffy blooms.

One bloom against the green foliage

Here is a perfectly fluffy hydrangea cloud! Gosh, I love this view!

Off to work, and some sewing fun.

Under the weather

Late yesterday afternoon I started feeling something going on in my guts. I figured something I had eaten earlier didn't agree with me and was in full rebellion in my innards. After several trips to the bathroom and waves of nausea, I finally succumbed and quit working at 5:30. I spent the evening rolled in a quilt in my recliner, sipping water and feeling miserable. By 9:00, I felt a bit better and had a bowl of chicken noodle soup.  Nope...went straight through. Off to bed at 11 and up at 7, feeling better, but not fine. I plan to go slowly today, taking liquids and resting if I don't feel well. I hate being sick, so it shouldn't last long or stop me from quilting.

Meanwhile, I did get something accomplished yesterday. The third quilt from the same customer with the small backings had the same problem. Back too small. I again added strips to top and bottom, worked to keep the top sides straight and within the 1 1/2 inch margin on the backing sides, and finished it!

The quilt is a 2-3-2-6 variation, using a modern Christmas fabric with Grunge fabrics complimenting nicely.

Panto: Snow fall

The backing is pieced with another fabric from the Christmas collection and more Grunge.

I worked on the custom quilt, finishing all the blocks, one border, and about half the sashing before feeling too ill to soldier on. Hopefully, I'll finish it today. 

Heart shaped leaves and little daisies in the corners to echo the embroidery and heart shapes in the quilt.

Just before giving up for the day, I moved some of the blocks around on the design wall. Oh boy! Do I ever have a lot of sewing to do. I am not even half done with the block making for this project. Oh well, I have nothing but time these days, and will fill a tiny portion of it with block construction to maintain my sanity and equilibrium. COVID cases up to 145 in our county, with five deaths. Will this ever end? I hope so.

I think I'll like it...I sure hope so. This is so far outside my wheelhouse, I am second guessing every combination of fabrics in the blocks! When it's finished, the quilting should make it a bit more lively.

We have had a thunderstorms so wild lately, I even unplugged all the machines for a half hour or so yesterday. Mr Wazoo said lightening hit a tree behind the house and blew the bark right off! He said branches were also blown off and laying all around the tree. We don't live on the tippy top of the mountain, and I am glad. There will always be something taller than our house to attract lightening! Figuring the new trellis is about six feet tall, you can appreciate the height of the forest behind us. Those trees are big!

View from the back porch, into the woods and up to the top of the mountain. I'd guess it is another 250 feet or so of incline before the terrain levels off for a bit, and then tapers away on the other side. The woods are part of the Chattahoochie National Forest, and there are no houses behind us for miles. I like that. We're not isolated, our neighborhood has about twenty houses, well distanced from one another, but still close enough to feel the ties of community.

Time to get started and see how the day progresses. There are quilts to be done, blocks to be made, and people to please. Hey, it keeps me going and gives me a reason to get up every day. I can't imagine not having some sort of hobby to indulge during the difficult time we're in. Off to work!

Alone again, naturally.

Remember the song, Alone again, naturally? That's what it feels like during this COVID 19 thing. I have spent hours and hours in the studio with just Molly for company, and I am beginning to like it. Have always been a social creature, so this is a new thing for me. Not that I don't like seeing friends and going places...I can see that I could live away from civilization and do fine. Occasionally, a customer comes to drop off or pick up quilts, but most of my time is spent listening to music or programs with loads of narrative on TV while I quilt.

I worked on the custom embroidered quilt yesterday again, and I am in the last row of blocks. Two more to go! Then it is sashing and borders, and another finish!

Here is what I accomplished with Millie yesterday while custom quilting 0n the Gammill.

The first of three QOVs is ready to go. I like the scrappy blocks.

Panto: Star Shine

There was quite a bit of backing left over, and I think it will show up in another QOV in the future!

I did two of these water and fish quilts. Very pretty, but with a huge problem. More about that in a minute...

Panto: Simply Fish

I like the water backing, too.

Here is the second backing loaded on the machine. See the strip of fabric at the top? I added 6 inches to the top and bottom of the backing to make the backs big enough to accommodate the tops. 

On the sides, the customer only allowed 1 1/2 inches of backing, and that included the selvedge!

Keeping the quilt arrow straight, and the clamps barely gripping the sides, I was able to get them quilted. Trust me, I will be having a word of education with the customer when she comes! This is quilt number two.

Same panto

Different backing.

It doesn't look like I did a whole lot for a long day in the studio, but while quilting free motion on one machine, monitoring and advancing the quilting on the other, all while answering the phone and greeting customers at the door, it made for a full day. I am busy the whole time. And when I'm busy, time flies!

Here are a few mid-summer shots of the garden. Mr Wazoo has been tending his plants, weeding and dead-heading . I don't know how he does it in this heat! Oh well, it keeps him happy and occupied.

I have a Zoom meeting with the quilt guild board this morning, so I need to get busy and try to get on the call. Last time it didn't work for me. I am using the Mac today, hoping that will be easier. Have a wonderful day and wear your mask when you go out!

A couple of bees enjoying the St John's Wort

Early morning dappled shade in the side garden

Butterfly bush in full glory

Hybrid Hydrangea, lacy and beautiful

I think it looks like a cool cloud in the hot sky.

We keep a water plant in the bird bath. It keeps the water crystal clear for the birds without having to constantly clean the bath or add chemicals. We use them in the fountain bath, too.

Hosta in bloom. The flowers are a light lavender color that doesn't show up correctly in photos.

Weekend quilting!

What a weekend! I am trying to get some of these quilts done and gone home. The custom work slows down the pace, but I've put nose to the grindstone and am powering through. I see the progress, and it makes me feel better.

I started with this modern quilt yesterday. I love the colors!

I chose a flower and feather panto...don't recall the name  right now. I've slept since then.

The pieced back added interest to the otherwise spartan quilt.

The king sized wedding ring quilt is also done! 

Boy, I feel good to have it off the machine and ready to go home.

The quilting is simple, but effective. Too bad the customer had Warm and Natural batting. It doesn't have as much definition and loft as a blend or wool. It will be nice and warm, though!

Detail of the swirl quilting

Detail of the center design

This backing is so beautiful I cut off the selvedge with the particulars so I can get some.

It is from Blank fabrics.

This little monster quilt is adorable!

The customer requested custom quilting. I kept it very simple to keep the quilt nice and soft.

The borders have some fun loopy and wavy treatments.

The big border had a kid type feather, made with undulating lines instead of the feathers.

Fun batik backing.

I set this quilt out at closing time Saturday...

and loaded up this one, too. Then I went and put my feet up!

Today I started with the floral quilt I loaded the night before.

 I used a light lavender thread to add a bit of softness .

Nice peachy backing.

Wow! On the other end of the spectrum is this bright, graphic quilt.

Panto: Jetty, using variegated King Tut thread.

I used the mid-tone pink on the back. It looks cool on the black fabric!

I'm about half done quilting the blocks on the quilt I loaded yesterday. It will be all hand guided custom, so it will take a while to do. Its looking good so far! Nice puffy batting shows off the quilting nicely.

With only a couple of hours left in my work day, I snuck in this QOV. I have three to be done and it's hard to find the time to do them. Free quilting jobs are back burner when we're super busy.

At 5:45 I decided to get off my feet and make a few of the four patch blocks for the shabby chic quilt. I just want to see what all the blocks will look like together, but won't be able to do that yet. 

6:00  came and I stopped pressing blocks to go get dinner ready.

I hope to make headway on the custom quilt, and finish the QOV tomorrow. Then I'll sew a few double four patches and see what happens on the design wall! See you all on the flip side...