Everybody's workin' for the weekend

All day yesterday I thought it was Saturday! Until I was changing the channel on the TV and up in the corner it says Friday! Oh goody, I have an extra weekend day to have some fun.

I finished the fourth of the group of quilts from one customer, and it came out wonderful! With a bit of time at day's end, I also quilted my latest charity quilt.

This is the second quilt using this pattern. I will also be making a quilt from this pattern later this Summer.

This one features cats!

Panto: Yodel

Same backing as its twin.

My quilt is also quilted, but my aching back prevented me from trimming it before quitting for the day.

Panto: Jetty

I bought almost an entire bolt of this backing fabric at a sale in Hayesville, NC a while ago, and have used it once before. I love the pattern of the field workers and sheaves of wheat. The color was perfect, too!

I have the binding cut, but pooped out before I could get it sewn.

During the automated row sewing, I selected and began cutting my next quilt. If you remember, I took 30 self-made  quilt  kits to Texas last Summer and only finished about 13 of them. This fabric and pattern was in one of those kit bags, ready to be made. The cutting is tedious and slow, but I am managing to do it and put the fabric away during the effort. My cutting table is already a mess with the piles of leftover fabrics from past projects, so I didn't want to add to the piles. I hope to get the cutting finished and get to work on the blocks over the weekend. I also need to bind the charity quilt  and make some more patches for the strippy quilt repair. I should be busy!

The cut pieces are labeled and stacked on. the left. The remaining fabrics are on the right. The total avalanche of fabric behind these stacks is what I need to deal with in order to clear more space on the table!( I tried to cut them out of the picture...no dice! The table is groaning under the weight of all my cast-offs.

  I read another blog yesterday where the quilter had the same problem. Her fabric ends from finished projects had taken over all but a sliver of her cutting table, and she had to spend  some precious time putting things away and making room for new project piles.  That's where I need to start...right after I get the last of the pieces cut. Ta for now; I'm off to the studio!

 

First set of diagnostic shots done...back to quilting!

The first set of 6 diagnostic shots in my back were done on Tuesday, and I am back to having pain after the brief reprieve of 12 hours pain free. There is a second set, tweaking the positioning of the shots, then the third set of six to do the ablation. Yes, it hurts, but it is over in 15 minutes and I get to have a night without having to cook afterward. A fair trade-off.

Back in the studio, I am carrying on with the remaining customer quilts before closing down Wazoo as a business. I have been thinking about this for a long time, and think it's time to retire. I have been quilting for other people 7 days a week for the past 16 years, and I am ready to take a break and do a lot of sewing for myself and my charitable endeavors. I will still quilt like a mad woman, but will be doing what I want to do and what makes me happy. The blog will go on until I think there is nothing fun to report!

I finished the huge Christmas quilt for the customer who originally had a  too small backing. She replaced it this week, and I loaded it right away.

This will be a lovely holiday display in some lucky person's bedroom!

Panto: Holly Berries

The green backing shows off the quilting well.

While I quilted that project, I cut and sewed a charity quilt from fabric I got in Texas at Hobby Lobby.

My favorite, quick-sew pattern, but with only one frame fabric.I love how all these quilts look different depending on the placement of the coordinating fabrics.

The focus fabric has a nautical theme. I used a tone on tone for the frames, and a check homespun for the center strip. I hope to get this quilted and bound over the weekend.

On the back porch, the pansies have rallied back following the freezing blast we recently had. Mr W planted these early in the Fall, and they have provided a burst of color for the Fall and Winter. We replace them with geraniums for the summer.

I think the centers look like bows. So pretty!!

Off to work! See you all later,

Shoot me!!

I'll be off to Gainsville for my second of four procedures on my back, and hope it won't be too bad. This time, it's just four little shots. They last about an hour and are for locating the affected nerves. I get them once more, and then, I have the pesky nerves ablated, or burned. It is hard to wrap my head around having nerves burned, but I trust my doctor, and need to get rid of this pain. Stay tuned for the exciting finish a few weeks from now.

On a much more pleasant front, I used my Funday-Sunday to quilt a couple of quilts from the guild's unfinished charity stash. I also put the binding on my three quilts and finished the big Lonni Rossi one today! The other two I sewed by machine.

Both quilts are flannel and quite soft and cuddly.

Panto: Pine trees

Swell woodsy backing, too!

Both quilts are manly and will be well appreciated by some lucky guys.

Panto: Oak leaves

Mindy backing.

I settled on using the same red fabric I used in the border to be the binding on Lonni Rossi.

 I decided to take a day to rest and see if it helps my back. No PT today, I just couldn't do it knowing I would have an escalation in pain later in the day. I sewed the binding, paid some bills, did a load of wash and watched some murder and mayhem on TV. Mr Wazoo has a doctor appointment early in the morning, and then we'll be off to the big city. He will get a bite to eat before we go and I will have a bite on the way home! It will be a half- fast day at the Slaton household. ha ha ha ha!

Another week, shot to hell

 Between physical therapy and recovering from physical therapy, I have been slowed to a crawl with my quilting! I am so looking forward to having a funday-Sunday...mostly doing paperwork and catching up with this blog and my block of the month ( yup, I am now two months behind...)

Yesterday there was NO quilting at all! I was at the table, struggling to understand the taxes. It took all day, but the taxes are done and sent (electronically...OoOOo!) both Federal and state. I am amazed that this year we will get a refund! Only because I dutifully sent the quarterlies, and then, didn't work for eight months. We get back the exact amount of the money I sent! Also, I added, added and added again to be sure the numbers were correct when the amount I made was EXACTLY the amount of my deductions! Haw did that happen? Oh well, it did, and I am moving on.

I did get some work done this week, despite being crippled by back pain. First, I'll catch you up on my own stuff.

Early on in the week, I sewed all the rows together on the Lonni Rossi quilt top.

I decided a small gold inner border was needed before adding the red border

With this border, I think it looks very opulent. I love it!

All quilted!

Panto: Asian leaves (ginko leaves)

I found this wide backing in Cumming and fell in love with it. 

I liked it so much, I switched my preference from sweet 30s fabrics to the backing fabric for the guild mystery quilt! These are the first blocks in the mystery.

Between computerized row sewing, I cut and sewed a 2-3-2-6 charity quilt for a kid.

I did a loose meander on this one.

I have loads of kid fabrics in my stash and need to use them!

I also made this cheerful 2-3-2-6 quilt from fabrics purchased at the Hiawassee shop's sale.

The panto is called Inkblot Flowers. It is a thread eating panto! I'll think twice before using it again.

I got this wonderful polka dot/stripe fabric in Cumming, as well.

On the customer quilt front, there was very little progress. That's okay, because I have very few customer quilts to do!

Grunge fabric is so lovely and saturated in color! This escalator quilt is wonderful!

Panto: Geometric flowers

The backing the customer found is perfect for the colors on the top!

Same customer, different quilt! This is a great pattern. I bought this pattern, but haven't made one yet.

I'm not pleased with the quilting. I had another pattern going, but after three rows, it began to overlap the row before it. I laboriously picked out the three rows and picked a better pattern. When I started quilting, I realized the pattern was a little too big for the quilt. I just couldn't bring myself to pick out another row, so I continued on and finished the quilt.

Panto: Bubbles. Big bubbles...

This is a baby quilt that needed to be done ASAP. It is all flannel and very soft.

Panto: Grandma loves me. Duh...it actually says " Grandma loves me" with a heart after the sentiment.

Flannel back, too.

Well, I've been here long enough! Its time to get to the studio and have my funday-Sunday!