The machine has arrived!

The big day came and Tim got his Gammill. Every man toy has to have 'some assembly required' and this was no exception. After a few hours it was all set up, the dealer out the door and Tim left standing there staring at the behemoth in the kitchen and wondering if he had lost his mind. Then we got to work!
Here below, you can see Tim hard at work and his finished quilt. He did two more small charity quilts today and finally admitted that quilting is work! Thankfully, he is more comfortable on his own and asking less questions and quilting more. I finished the custom piano quilt today and have tomorrow's quilt loaded and ready to go in the morning. This truly is a great job!!

Tim starts his first project

threading the needle may be the hardest part

Off to the races!

Quilt number 2

Number 1 all done!

The customer Piano quilt

And to all a good night!

My friends came home today and gathered up their dogs, and suddenly it was quiet and calm in the house. Molly enjoyed the playtime, but even she was so exhausted it took a long nap to recover. Customers came and went, work went on as usual. It was a good day all around.
My second class for the Magic Block quilt was a wonderful success. Everyone seemed to be having fun learning and sewing together. I made progress on my second class quilt and expect to have it all finished and ready for the Gammill in a few days!

Tim is getting anxious for his machine to come and is taking the opportunity to go grouper fishing tomorrow before he has to buckle down and learn the way of the longarmer. I'm hoping for a fresh fish dinner tomorrow night. Yum.
Meanwhile, here are the customer quilts finished this week despite teaching one day and hosting my sewing club another.

Quilt with jungle pantograph

I L-O-V-E this backing fabric!!

Baby quilt with freemotion swirl pattern

My niece is taking to quilting like a pro! Here she is at sewing club with her first and second quilt tops! You go, girl!!

dogs, dogs, dogs, quilts!

We are doggie sitting for our friends and now have four lovelies running around and barking. So far, there is peace in the house; all the dogs seem happy to be together. In the midst if it all, I was able to get in some quilting time, too.
The little orange and blue quilt is made from leftover parts from another class project. I just sewed 'em up and got'er done! Teddy and Toby thought they should help with the picture. Molly isn't sure what to think about the whole situation, and Skipper just lays low.

Toby thinks he should help with dinner

Toby and Teddy keep Molly on her toes

Everyone monitors the foot traffic outside

Toby guards the toy he likes best

My quilty dog, Molly

Oh you guys!!!

Hubby helps out for the photo

A peek at the back

Back to work!

My new apron

My work apron finally wore through where it rubbed on the front roller of my machine table. I got a pattern for a new apron at Quilt Lovers Hangout (a great shop here in south Florida) and decided to give it a try. I love that it has two layers (yes! It's reversible!) and the opportunity to change it with my mood.
Here it is! All happy flowers and cherries, perched on the Gammill and relaxing after a day at work. I really did work today; the flanel moose quilt is all finished with a moose pantograph and ready to go home to my customer.

side one is pretty flowers...

side two has cheerful cherries and tiny stripes.

my apron and I quilted this moosey quilt

with hundreds of little moose, or moosies.

It is very soft and cuddly.

Finished class quilt

Huzzah! I finished the quilt from my class and am planning the one for the next class on July 10th. Then, it was time for work. I managed to crank out four customer quilts in a marathon quilting session, but now my back is screaming. It's taking longer than I expected to completely recover from the break, but I'm doing okay. Meanwhile, enjoy some pictures of pretty quilts!

My class quilt, washed and ready to go!

Free motion swirly quilting

A peek at the backing. 

Twin map quilts for a customer

Free motion 'dwirling' quilting, by me.

panto quilting by the new quilter...Tim!

Customer 4 to 9 quilt

A look at the backing

Can you see the flowers in the quilting?

Cute, cute customer baby quilt

Popcorn panto

Second cute baby quilt

Free motion bubble quilting

Fun with the class

One of the students in my class took some pictures while we all worked on the project quilt. Everybody looks like they are having a good time even though we were surrounded by flood waters!
     

                                                      The teacher cuts a block

Gert has a huge batch done!

Phyllis' block is like a rainbow

Ronnie went with a wild look

Joan tries a layout with her blocks

Sandy picked a tropical theme

Stacia with her cool blocks

Linda presses her nautical strip sets

Sylvia is plesed to have her frames started

Pat measures and cuts

Joanne with one of her soothing blocks

Salad girl was taking the pictures!

Donna sure has the cheerful factor in her fabric

(I finished my quilt and will post a photo of it in the morning. Right now, I am pooped and need to get into bed!)