A quiet studio day

 I had a fine day in the studio. I appliquéd a patch over the small spot that wouldn't come out of the Sunbonnet Sue quilt no matter what I tried. The quilt was all finished and I had only to apply the small patch, spritz it with water, and use the hair dryer to dry it to match the rest of the quilt. The quilt is soft and looks like Granny finished it yesterday. ( well, somebody's Granny finished it yesterday! Ha!!)

Quilting done, un-washed

Here is the sash with the spot before I washed the quilt. The other two spots on the muslin are lighter now, but didn't come out totally, either. Win some, lose some.

After a good washing, the quilt looks bright and pretty

I appliquéd a piece over the second lower feather.

The same customer brought this cute quilt for her young relative...granddaughter or niece, I forget. I bet the little girl will love this quilt!

A herd of friendly llamas!

Panto: African Samba

The back was pieced, with a big frame that I centered to the quilt top.

Yesterday we took Penny for her fluff and buff in Hiawassee and while we waited, we visited a local farm market. Outside, they had all sorts of plants and flowers. It's too early to plant new ones yet, but Mr Wazoo enjoyed poking around and dreaming of digging holes. I went inside where there was a huge assortment of fresh vegetables and home preserves. (I was so excited, I forgot to get a picture!) I picked out a bunch of new potatoes and some fresh green beans to go with our dinner, as well as all the fixin's for pico de gallo. I also snagged a tomato as big as a softball for Mr W to have in his lunch sandwiches. Yum!

The man and his friends...

My friend Judy stopped by today to drop off a quilt for me to do, and she brought her 9 month old mini-sheepadoodle, Isabel (Izzy) with her. Penny and Izzy ran around jumping and snorting in the garage for over a half an hour. They had such fun! By the time Judy had to go, they both were laying nose to nose on the cool floor with their tongues out. Next time they come, we will take them in the yard for a proper run, and I'll get some pictures. We had a wild rain and wind event overnight, and the yard was too muddy for my clean and fresh smelling pup to entertain in today. I'm so happy to find a new friend for Miss Penny.

I finished another two stars for my floral quilt and loaded a custom quilt that a friend made for me as a gift. I'll show it to you when I get more of it quilted. See you tomorrow!

 

Off and running!

I have been busy the last couple of days with customer quilts and QOVs. I am taking my time with the quilting, sitting and resting when my back starts hurting. It seems to be working, as I have put in the regular 8 hour day and still be able to walk!

Isn't this a beauty?! I have the pattern and fabrics all ready to go for my own version, but I have a couple of other quilts I'd like to do first.

The customer requested Baptist fan for the quilting.

The back is this lovely Stonehenge dark blue. Pretty, but it sure shows every stray thread! I used half of the sheets on my sticky roller getting off the threads!

QOV number one from a quilter in Florida.

Somebody felt she had to be in the picture...what a ham.

Panto: Simply stars

I don't like this stiff, wide back. I have had it from other QOV quilters, and it makes the quilt pretty inflexible and scratchy. I hope washing will soften it up.

Number two was much larger than the first one. I like the block used here.

Simply stars again.

Same horrible backing!

This Quilty was made from a top the customer had in storage. Her Grandma made it, and it has some stains that I will work on once I have it finished. I'll show you how it tuned out later.

I custom quilted it with simple quilting, carefully avoiding the Sunbonnet girls. I did quilt around their hats, arms and feet to keep them from being too baggy later.

Sweet backing. I sewed the binding down last night, and it is in the wash as I write this.

I am coming along on the stars quilt. Not much sewing done while quilting on two machines at once!

I'll be working on it a bit today before taking Penny for a fluff and buff over in Hiawassee. She stinks!

 

Last Sunday Funday of the month

 My plan for the day was to get something accomplished on the quilt I cut out yesterday. I'm happy to say, I got half of the blocks done and on the design wall! I need to make one more chain block and 13 more star blocks. So far, so good. Of course I'll move everything around for balance, but I wanted to slap them up and take a picture before rushing out the door at 6:00.

This pattern is from Cluck Cluck Sew. You can use 10" squares or fat quarters, but I made it from my stash, pulling small florals and a white on white background fabric.

I did quilt one customer project today, as well, but most of the day was dedicated to fun sewing. I want this customer to get her quilt back because to is a gift for a friend having a tough time medically. It has photos of their group of knitting friends, having fun together.

Here is the quilt. I haven't trimmed it yet...still running out the door.

The customer wanted invisible thread, but after several breaks and mounting frustration, I changed gears and used a neutral Bottom line thread on top and Magnaglide on the back. Almost invisible, and much stronger. You probably can't see the quilting, but it is a medium sized meander panto.

Hard to see on the back, too. I think she'll be okay with it.

On my run up to the house, I stopped briefly to snap a couple of 'Spring has sprung' pictures. Penny was pulling me, but they are good enough.

We were sure the forsythia was a goner when it only had a few blooms last year. Mr Wazoo fed it, pruned it back and talked nicely to it, and voila! Blooms came on this year's wood. I hope it survives.

Every year we fight about the lilacs. I only have two, and he didn't want those. I think he is secretly trying to kill them, but I won't let them die. I'm from Wisconsin, where lilacs are giant bushes, full of beautifully fragrant blooms in the Spring and early Summer. I think I'd have to say, they are my second favorite flower after lillies of the valley. Mr W gave in and planted some lilly of the valley pips a few years ago along the side of the house, and they are multiplying nicely. When they bloom this year, I'll show you where they live.

I have to quit now. I ran out the door and up to the house in anticipation of the steak dinner Mr W is cooking on the grill! Potatoes are cooking and there are Brussel sprouts roasting in the air fryer. This has been a truly fun-day!