Short post on a foggy Saturday

I'm starting today with trimming the quilt I finished at 6 PM yesterday. It took all day to quilt because of the pattern. I got many other tasks done while quilting, so it was still a good day.

 The outdoorsy quilt is quilted, and I have to make and apply binding today

Panto: Pine trees

Brown backing

I added  borders to the embroidered baby quilt.

The fabric is perfect for the quilt! Sleeping bunnies floating from balloons. The colors are right, and the poem is a bedtime prayer. I hope to get it quilted today.

I chose this rust color solid for the binding on the fox quilt. I also made a hanging sleeve. It looks good!

This customer sent a wall hanging with fused elements on it. She asked me to sew them down and quilt it. I did the stitching yesterday and hope to finish it today. I had better get to work! Someone is coming with quilts at 11:00 and I am still in my pajamas.

 

Class, quilt, bind!

 The class went really well, with 7 relatively new, or super new, quilters making the 2-3-2-6 quilt. I wanted to have pictures to show you, but the time went by in a flurry and I was so busy, I forgot! I took one student picture, and hope some of them will bring their finished tops to be quilted soon.

Yippee! These fabrics were so wonderful! I love how she changed it up from the focus fabric dogs to the support fabric row to row. Good job!

Back home and in the studio, I unloaded the quilt from Millie and got on with the next one. The finished one was this collage quilt of a fox, and I think the customer did a good job with the fabric selections for the fur and eyes. The only problem was that she didn't sew anything down! There was a lot of edge glueing and watching while the machine moved over the pieces to be sure they didn't flip over under the hopping foot. If you make one of these, the hard part is securing all those bits with stitching before you start the quilting. Fusing is not forever. These bits will lift over time and there will be glueing in her future.

Isn't he cute? The ombre fabric is very effective for the background, too. 

I need to apply the binding and sleeve for the customer, then I'll be done with it.

I chose the panto, Fanciful Flyers for the quilting because of the butterflies flitting around the fox.

The backing is this pretty batik.

Next, the customer made two string quilts. One for her granddaughter and one for the girl's doll. I recognize many of the bright fabrics as ones I have used in my kid quilts, too. I love the bright playful mix of patterns and colors.

These are thicker than usual because the foundation is muslin. Plus, she used flannel on the back. Warm and snuggly.

Panto (hard to see!) is Jetty

Flannel back. See the pattern?

Baby doll quilt

I worked the same Jetty pattern in a smaller size for this one. It is so cute!

Dogs on the back. I chose a solid blue for her binding on both quilts.

The strip with the cats was appliquéd by me after the quilt was completely finished. When I looked it over, the original piece wasn't sewn in! The quilting folded it over and totally ruined it. I carefully cut it out and put in this piece. Done and dusted. Check your seams!

Yesterday was a big binding day. I not only made  and applied the binding for these two quilts, I also made and applied the binding on the vintage Sunbonnet Sue quilt. There was a Sharpie stain on one of the plain blocks, and I used the new stain remover I bought at the quilt shop in Cumming. It is Amodex. It worked like magic! 

I didn't purposely take a close up of the stain, but you can see it here .

After treatment (and still wet) the stain is gone. 

Pardon the color; I took this picture in the garage where the light isn't as good.

This small bottle was $14! Fortunately, I only needed a tiny bit. The product is a thick white liquid and stays on the stain while you brush it in. It took some brushing (old toothbrush) but the stain came out.

Today, I will be doing the binding and sleeve on the fox quilt and quilting a big outdoorsy quilt for the customer's husband. I have a sewing project to do, as well, and will be working on it on and off all day. The work goes on, and I am happy to be a part of getting quilts finished and back to their makers. Life is good!

My talented friend, Audrey, did the embroidery on this project. The customer started it, but quickly was overwhelmed and brought it to me. I don't generally do embroidery, but Audrey is a master, so I called her. 

The embroidered pictures go all the way around the piece, with angels, flowers and hearts in abundance. I soaked it yesterday to get the blue dots out of it that were the quilting suggestion. I'm planning something else for the quilting. It should be dry today and I need to select the border and backing fabric, and complete the quilt top.

Here is the next quilt to be done. The customer's husband wanted an outdoors theme.

Thank you to Cindy over at Live a Colorful Life for the cartoon. 

Made me laugh!

Some work, some fun

 I'll be teaching a class tomorrow at the local quilt shop, and I am a bit apprehensive about the close proximity of the students in a small space all day. I'll have masks for the students, and I hope they don't give me too much flak for wanting them to wear a face covering. The shop doesn't require them, but I always wear mine there. We'll see. My prep work is all ready, and I suspect we'll have fun. This is the quilt we'll be making.

I have made hundreds of these quilts

Every one looks different, depending on what the fabric selections are

Some have two colors for the frames around the focus fabric

Some limit the palette to only three fabrics

Some are narrowed down to two fabrics!

Some are for men

Most are for kids

some are for women

Some are for veterans.

Like I said, I have made many, many of these, and every one was fun!

Here are the pieces for the class sample, where I demonstrate how to make the quilt. It is a truly beginner friendly class, so I hope the students aren't afraid to have fun with it.

It will be a bright one!

In the studio, I quilted a vintage top of Sunbonnet Sues for a customer. Some of the fabrics were almost fluorescent! Must have been made in the 60s or 70s. I still need to get the binding on (the dark green fabric) and then it will be finished. 

It turned out very nice, with the quilting on display in the muslin blocks.

Panto: Splat in off white thread.

Grunge green backing.

The next quilt wasn't finished by 6:00, so I will have to show it to you on Thursday.

The last row is waiting...

I pulled these Peppered cottons from Pepper Cory, and hope to start something sort of modern this weekend.

Mr Wazoo and I went to a beautiful nursery, and these friends were  enjoying the flowers and the lovely weather.

We don't see Monarchs in our garden for some reason, but this one was gorgeous.

I don't know the name of this one, but it was very patient with me snapping photos!

Oh my...

Back in the swing

 It has taken me a couple of days to get myself back in the swing and quilting at speed. Mr Wazoo has been outside as much as possible, getting the gardens ready for winter and adding cold weather plants like mums, pansies and ornamental cabbages. He keeps this place beautiful all year round!

No doubt where we stand. We were hesitant to put signs out. I think the vile rhetoric on the Republican side has been intimidating, but also empowering. We will always stand for the right thing to do, and the country we love, no matter what is done to deter us. 

We voted on Friday.

The mums and begonias are going strong while other plants (like the roses) are winding down.

In the studio, things are humming along. Customers are getting their Christmas mojo going and bringing in quilts that will be gifted to friends and families.

Isn't this a cute baby quilt? Colorful and scrappy.

Panto: Popcorn, in a mid-tone pink thread.

Cute plaid backing.

The same quilter finished this intricately pieced wall hanging, too. Oodles of small pieces

Panto: Espallier in a light tan thread.

Pieced backing.

The customer's final project was this stack and whack table runner. Nicely done!

Panto: Delicate vines, which echoed the border fabric pattern.

Blue backing.

This customer had another quilt, but I finished it during the week. You've already seen it! She also made this Kaffe Fassett roses quilt. Unable to do a panto without ruining the raw edge appliqué, I did some easy custom.

Very simple swirl in the flowers and inner border, echoing for the fill, and piano keys in the border. 

Everything was also ditch stitched.

Not too shabby!

The next customer is after my own heart...heavy on the lime green! Lime green makes everything better.

Panto: Borneo, in lime green thread

Ooh! Loving the back, too.

This bright beauty also belongs to the same customer. I had to add 8 inches top and bottom on the backing to make it big enough for the quilt. Please, quilters, measure the top and back before you drop off the quilt! My time is as precious as yours.

Panto: Alfresco in a mid tone yellow.

The too small part was this floral. I added some Mary Engelbreit fabric I had on hand.

After I finished the roses quilt, I loaded up another of the hand embroidered quilts from the customer who is making one for everyone in her family. You saw the last one like this, and this one will be quilted the same way. It will take a few more days since I have some other things on my plate this week.

Okay, I think that does it for now. Get out and vote! Wear your masks and socially distance. And most of all, be kind.