2023 was a really slow year for Wazoo quilting. Usually, I have a lot of output to report at the end of the year, but not this one. I made only 36 quilts last year, most for charity, and the rest for friends and family. I kept my show quilts. I did 13 repair projects and made 12 commission quilts. There were 5 QOVs quilted and 124 customer quilts. In comparison to previous years, it looks like I barely worked! This year will have even less customer work. I plan to do mostly repair and commissions, leaving the quilting to other quilters in the area. I started Wazoo in 2006, and I am ready for a change. Eighteen years of standing in front of the longarm has taken its toll and I need to slow down.
Since my last post, I haven't been busy with quilting. I have been working on a big repair project that I finally finished yesterday! Here are the before and after photos.
The lone star quilt had been stored somewhere where something hot must have been laying over it while it was folded. Three places looked burned away, with char along the piece edges and fabrics crispy or missing.
Burned away rows of patches
Bad char damage
I replaced 86 diamonds and re-quilted those areas as well as two of the large corner squares where the quilting had come out. I re-sewed the binding in places where it had come loose and then gave the quilt a wash.The water turned dark gray during the wash process, and when I emptied the tub, there was dirt all along the bottom and sides. I did the final rinses and spin in the front-loader, and the quilt came out bright and clean. However, the writing on the label (which was quilted through so I couldn't remove it prior to the wash) had all disappeared! Oh my goodness!! I hope the owner remembers what was on the label, or I will be in some hot water. Anyway, here is what it looks like now.
Clean and whole again!
Blue, print and white row completely replaced and some of the red row, too.
Same here. Blue, print, white and a few checked patches are new.
All the blue, some of the print and all the white replaced.
Repaired point and re-quilted corner and setting triangle.
Another re-quilted area with the repaired point.
I stopped quilting just before Christmas to make my cookies, clean the house and get the decorations up. My daughter came on the 22nd, and we took a ride to Mountain Crossings, our favorite store for unique gifts. It is on top of Blood Mountain along the Appalachian Trail. We took the obligatory picture there. It was cold and windy!
Three Wazoocicles in the Georgia mountains.
Both guilds had their Christmas parties, and the sprint to Christmas Day was on. I did get to meet Santa at one party and he promised me a good year in 2024. My son and his family arrived on the 23rd and then the fun really began. Seeing may grandson was the highlight of their visit after months of FaceTime chats. It was a whirlwind visit but we managed to have a fire for s'mores (freezing our butts off), a trip to the Bigfoot museum (tourist trap deluxe), make two jigsaw puzzles, play a new game called Santa-cookie-elf-candy-snowman, open gifts and stockings Christmas morning and eat gourmet food cooked by my son and his wife. He brought his sourdough. starter and made an awesome loaf for Croque Monsieur breakfast and to go with homemade vegetable soup. Yum! He left us a lump of starter to "feed" and make more for bread. It should be a fun experiment for me.
Mr W and daughter share a cookie moment
Penny and Grandson were fast friends
Stockings ready for Christmas morning
Grandson waiting to open presents while Grandma works on the repair quilt.
The gang that had holiday fun
Mr W is impressed by son's bread loaf.
My son's family always dress alike on Christmas. This year it was artist ,Kieth Haring, shirts.
Off to see Bigfoot
Some of the names Bigfoot is known by. Wood Booger!?
Outside it was rainy and cold.
Company cleared out on the 27th, and on the 29th, Mr Wazoo and I both came down with a monster flu. We tested negative for Covid, but are still battling the incessant cough and blocked nose. We are both really tired and hardly able to get up and do things. We washed and replaced all the towels and linens, took down the tree and outdoor lights, put the studio back in order (daughter used the studio for her hotel suite), washed our laundry, sent off boxes of cookies (the new stove came on the 23rd) and took naps. I made all the blocks for a customer tee shirt quilt, and loaded up a small customer quilt. That's as much as I could accomplish. Hopefully, I'll feel better soon. I follow the Just Get It Done blog, and am attempting to do the studio de-clutter challenge. We're on day four. Take a look on You Tube if you need a tidy up in your sewing area.
Dog on my lap, Kleenex at hand, the sickly Wazoo quilter coughs in the new year.
Happy New Year, everyone!
