Quilt and pack...quilt and pack

Everyone who knows me knows how much I love my fabric stash. So it won't be a surprise when I tell you that the last few days have been stressful for me. I have been packing up my stash, not to be seen again until (gulp!) next spring! I have kept out some projects to work on and some fabric that I thought might come in handy, but the bulk of it is going in the first truckload when we go to the closing. For the un initiated, moving a quilting studio is a major undertaking. Not just your stash has to be packed, but all those 'notions' you bought over the years have to go too. Rulers, stencils, templates, extension tables, machines, baskets of scraps, books, patterns, stabilizers and freezer paper, fusables, light table, and all the stuff you can't categorize nor live without. Add to this the accoutrements that go with the longarm business, and there's a truck load. My husband asked me when I bought all this fabric...he didn't know I had been squirreling it all over the house for years before we moved here and I got the big room. It is 35 years of accumulation! Some of the stuff will be sold at the guild yard sale or given away to both guild's boutique efforts. Now, what to do with the closet full of quilts and the closet full of quilt tops! Yikes! Anyone want to come to Georgia and help me put it all away?

sad looking shelves

some of the boxes

more of the boxes

I think I am up to 40 boxes so far. Egad!

Meanwhile, we have kept on the work 7 hours and pack 2 hours schedule most days. If it wasn't 100 degrees in the garage, it wouldn't be too bad, but the heat is a drain and then I have to go in and make supper, plus clean it up and do dishes. Mr Wazoo takes his shower while I am cooking, so he is all fresh and ready for TV and bed. I am always doing things until 12 or so before wash-up and bed. Enough whining. I knew it was going to be hard.

Mr Wazoo quilted this bright quilt

He did this one, too

I got to do this dimensional bow ties quilt, because I had to stitch around the centers, not through them.

I quilted an all over shamrock pattern by customer request

See? Each corner is folded, not stitched down.

Another of Mr Wazoo's projects

I got to do this quilt. Isn't it a great pattern?

I love the zinger colors and swirly quilting

Customer brought a picture of quilting she wanted, and I did it to the letter!

Yes, We are working, too!

It seems like we have been doing everything but working on quilts lately, but we really have been at the machines every day. Mr Wazoo has been cranking out quilts one or two a day, and I have been faithfully custom quilting one beautiful quilt at a time. Some take two days, and some take a week...but all of them are like family to me when I have finished them. I really do love my job!
On a very sad note, one of my favorite customers and quilting friend passed away yesterday after a long fight with cancer. I think she epitomized strength and dignity in the face of a devastating illness, keeping her poise and grace to the end. Her quilts will be a lasting legacy for her family. I already miss her quiet demeanor and warm smile. I am thankful I had the honor to know her and leave my mark on her wonderful quilts.
Now, I leave you with a colorful array of quilts, both from Mr Wazoo and myself. Tomorrow, I start another customer project and will leave another piece of my quilting soul on its surface.

Pretty stars quilted by Mr Wazoo

A stunning pineapple quilt I quilted

Isn't this a cute quilt?! Mr Wazoo did this one

He did this split 4 patch, too

here he is, hard at work on a cheerful Kaffe Fassett quilt

My friend Barbara made tyhis applique beauty. I had a ball quilting it

the same applique quilt had these wonderful pineapple blocks, too

more of Barbara's quilt

the whole quilt

the wonderful pieced back to Barbara's quilt

Mr Wazoo quilted this. I love the sashing!

The quilting on  the next quilt

The last quilt I quilted for my friend who just passed away.

Mr Wazoo got to quilt this French braid quilt

simple and pretty lap quilt

Nice maritime themed quilt

Mr Wazoo did this scrappy quilt

This is one of two quilts made from a man's clothes as gifts to his wife and daughter

This zinger of a quilt was made as a class sample. Mr Wazoo did the quilting

The second memorial quilt. Both quilted by the Wazoo man.

Christmas is coming! This is a giant quilt for the season. I quilted it.

My friend, Audrey M. made this colorful scrappy Irish chain quilt.
Isn't it terrific?!

Here's what I did n the plain blocks

And here are the border and chain treatments.

My friend Carole made this to give to a foster child at camp

Donna made this quilt; I quilted it, and...

my friend Terri appliqued the leftover blocks to the back! Cool!

Mr Wazoo quilted this one

Hey! I snuck in one that I made at the retreat

I quilted it with my favorite panto. It's a happy quilt.

It took me four and a half days to do this quilting. It was worth it. The quilt is stunning.

Now, we're at the end of the 'quilt show'. There is a quilt on the frame and I will be busy quilting tomorrow.

You're moving?!!

This is the response I get when ever I tell someone that Mr Wazoo and I are moving to Georgia in the Spring. We kept it on the QT for awhile but feel it's time to start letting our customers and friends know our plans.
We have been looking in the general area of Tim's family in South Carolina, western North Carolina, and northern Georgia for some time and just recently came across the ideal place for our home and business. Our realtor found a partially built home just outside Blairsville, GA that was being built as a spec house. It has the big room we need for the business and studio, and has all the living area on one floor. We got in at the right time to pick appliances and countertops, bathroom fixtures and electricals. After we close, we will contract to have the 'bonus room' finished as the studio space. People will no longer have to walk through our living space to get to the business; it has its own entrance!
Northern Georgia has a moderate climate and the wonderful change of seasons I miss so much living here in Florida. We have mountain views without the steep climb to get to the house, as well as being close to town but still in the country.
 I won't miss the oppressive heat of summer, the threat of hurricanes, the fear of sinkholes or the clog of snowbirds in the winter. What I will dearly miss are my friends and my loyal customers. It is pretty scary to go somewhere where we don't know anyone and start over. We're not spring chickens, so it is harder than when we started here 14 years ago. My quilting friends are what has kept me sane while living here, and I hope they will always be my friends despite the distance between us.
I will be having the last retreat in Sebring in January and continue the Nifty Fifty quilting group until we move. I have commitments until mid-March, so that will probably when I will be going. If the house sells quicker than we imagine it will, I will have to adjust my plan a bit, but not leave anyone in the lurch.
While you absorb all of this, take a look at where we're going and our 'almost' house.

The countryside on the drive to the house

more countryside 

our house

the lower level is the garage and the studio next to it

garage level where customers will come

great room in progress

Studio entrance

back porch will be screened

back of unfinished studio

unfinished studio

our road

looking the other direction