Working a little more each day

 Despite politics, I'm feeling pretty good these last few days. I  have been sewing and quilting up to 7 or 8 hours without the excruciating pain of the past. I think all the treatments and shots are finally working! One more trip to Gainesville, and I'll be on my own again. Enough of that...I am optimistic!

The last couple of days it has been quilting and binding...lots of binding. 

I quilted and bound this customer-made tee shirt quilt/blanket. I call it a blanket because it has no batting! Why? Because the back is a thick fleece, soft and drapey without the added weight.

Panto: Jetty

Tip: Cut your fleece with scissors, not your rotary cutter, to keep from having the fluff stuck in your cutting board and  flying all over your sewing room. Since buying a sturdy pair of electric scissors, I have come to love fleece and Minky even more! I bound this one without problem.

I made this top at the retreat and quilted it on Sunday. The binding is also done (not seen here) and it is ready to give to charity.

I got this backing from a sale room somewhere and it is fun and pretty on this quilt. The panto is Flower feather.

I quilted a couple of Heart to Heart quilts for our nursing home outreach group, and this is one of those.

Panto: Basketweave

I bound this one, too.

Another H2H quilt, more modern this time!

Panto: Rounded diamond plaid

I replaced the dark floral binding that came with the quilt with this black and white stripe from my stash. The same fabric features prominently, so I chose to change it. 

My friend Gail has been busy making fabulous quilt tops, and this one is no exception.

It really has an Amish flavor, don't you think?

Panto: Baptist fan

Perfect Kaffe Fasset fabric for the backing

I made the top at the retreat. Some ladies thought the fabric was camouflage! No, camo fabric doesn't have shiny gold accents and little white berries in it, I'm pretty sure.

Because the print is so busy, I did a simple meander for the quilting. (In gold thread! Take that, camo people) The binding is the leftover fabric from the piecing.

That's it for now. I'm happy to go to the studio knowing it will be a good day doing what I love. Are you sewing and quilting? Like Nike says, "Just do it!"

What's happening out there?

 I put in a full week of work (except for one retail therapy trip to Chattanooga) and my back has held up well. I'm happy to be back sewing and quilting...especially getting caught up with the backlog of projects.

A Fall beauty from my friend, Gail.

The panto is a vine and leaf pattern in a deep red-purple thread

Kaffe backing, too. You can swoon now...

This lovely sampler is the customer's second quilt! Good job!

I used a chevron pattern for the quilting

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Isn't this an interesting batik print? I really like it.

Steampunk, anyone? I don't know where this customer got the panel, but I love it!

Pipes, gears and numbers...and an octopus!

I chose the panto Gears for the quilting.

This is the first of two custom jobs I reluctantly took from a customer. It has taken forever to get them done since I haven't been feeling the mojo for custom work. Big Gammill was happy to be useful and I muddled through, feeling better toward the finish line.

Here's a peek at some of the hand guided quilting.

Hard to see...but the quilting looks good on the back, too.

The steampunk customer also made this modern interpretation of trees

The panto is called Mid-Century. I guess because of the 50s vibe.

I was very careful with the starts and stops because of the solid blue backing.

Doesn't it look swanky!?

Up in Wisconsin, my grandson  was a scary troll for Halloween. My son made the mask and costume for him. I understand he got enough candy "to last a year" according to him.

One house had a fire going in the yard and treated kids to S'mores! Wow...

if you're old like me, you remember getting an apple, or a popcorn ball or homemade cookie. The real posh houses handed out whole Hershey bars! Oh yeah, if you collected pennies for Unicef, you weren't supposed to get candy, too. We did both...anything for free candy.

I took this picture of myself (on a trip in France) to my new hairdresser and said I liked it this way. She assured me she knew just what to do and went to work.

This is what I got! Oh my! 

Well, I figure in four or five weeks it will be long enough to lay down in the back. And maybe the sides, too. It's really short. In the morning I look like Alfalfa from the little rascals.

That's the skinny on what I have been doing last week. I did quilt and bind a customer's tee shirt quilt, and quilted and bound two small lap quilts for the nursing home. I'll get pictures tomorrow when I get to the studio.

Back to work tomorrow. I cut out some bits for a quilt I have in my brain that needs to be made. I saw a photo on Pinterest of an interesting and simple quilt, and bought some fabric to try a different twist on the design. We'll see how that goes. Here is the picture I found. Mine should be different, but the same, if you know what I mean.