Deep in the Heart of Texas

After a two day haul, we arrived in south Texas to see my folks and my sister. We drove through rain and fog, heat and wind, but made it without incident.

Dogwoods in bloom in South Georgia

Really foggy in Alabama

Over the bridge into Louisiana

And then there is East Texas. Flat...dry...boring.

On the horizon, a city and an oil refinery

Hundreds of miles with this view

Cotton seed storage on the outskirts of Harlingen

We recovered nicely after a wonderful dinner, and toady, I went with my sister to her quilt guild, The Killer Bees. Don't you love that name?! The 'bees' had a great time watching a demo of mitering border corners, and then a fun show and tell.

The Killer Bees chatting before the meeting

These name tags are funny!

Some of the bees are different

This nice snippet quilt was the project used for the mitering demonstration

These bee ladies were discussing binding

The girl on the left was visiting her mother and brought her fabulous show quilt to share with the group.

When we arrived home after a fine Mexican lunch, Mr Wazoo was working in the yard, weeding and mulching my Dad's flower beds. I'm glad its overcast and windy, so he doesn't faint from the heat!!

What a nice son-in-law!

A garden visitor1

My Mother

My Dad making sandwiches and Tim taking a break. I made that cactus wall hanging when I was in High School!! Parents are the greatest! They still have it on display.

My sister's house

More news from the Parker's house tomorrow!

Finished working...off to Texas

Mr Wazoo finished his last quilt (the one with the cute dog fabrics) and I finished mine so we can get on with packing and getting ready to go see the folks in Texas.

Texas, here I come...WOOF!

part of the pieced backing

See the stylized turkeys? I love it!

I did this farm animal quilt

Aren't they cute?!

Its been a big day for everyone. Molly had her bath and is now completely worn out.

I'll be traveling for a couple of days. We'll have to see what the wi-fi is like and whether or not I can post here. Fingers crossed!

Hugs and Kisses day

Today was the sewing day for the Hugs and Kisses group and I was ready! I had Stephanie's quilts all ready for her to bind as well as two of my own cut out and raring to be sewn. During the day, I showed the girls how I finish the binding ends and stitch the binding down. Our new friend, Nelda, took a little video and if she sends it to me, I will post it here. Here are the quilt tops I made today.

disappearing nine patch

scrappy disappearing nine patch

When I got home, Mr Wazoo was working diligently on my sister's quilts. He had finished one, and still had another one to do after the one on the frame! I had time to kill, so I put on number three and got it quilted. His project was much bigger, so I left him at the machine to go post this entry!

Tomorrow, I'll get a fresh start on the next customer quilt. All in all, a very nice day.

All kitties on this bright quilt

Great quilting with variegated thread

The swirly panto shows well on the back

Mr Wazoo still quilting the all puppy quilt

I love this color block modern quilt!

I decided to keep the modern vibe going with this 'potato masher' type panto.

Lime green on the back, too! My favorite color.

Pumpkins done!!

I put in a long day today to get this quilt finished and it was worth it! I just couldn't stop quilting...

I traced the flower and leaf as templates, and did some outline quilting up in the blocks with contrasting threads.

                                   

A simple swirl meander sets off the pumpkins in the blocks. The inner border has a continuous leaf design.

This shows the backing

Here are the flower and leaf I used for the templates.

I think it looks really nice!

Tim finished his quilting and then spent some time in the yard with his plants and grass. He actually has a sunburn on his face! Forgot to wear his hat.

A monster of an Irish chain for a Florida customer.

He used variegated thread and a nice feathery pantograph.

A peek at the back.

Now, I am in my easy chair with my feet up, ready to hand sew the binding down on the quilt I did yesterday. 

Life is good!

Hurry Up!!

Just a note before I start quilting today. We are going to Texas to see my folks next week, so I have to hurry up and get the quilts up to date as well as get our taxes finished and in the mail. Oh drat! I hate doing the taxes...
Yesterday, I quickly quilted one of my tops and get the binding on so I would have handwork for tonight's TV watching.

Mr Wazoo was busy, too! We are in overdrive getting things done.

In the afternoon, I started this happy pumpkin quilt. The customer did a wonderful job on the buttonhole applique. I notice these things since my face is so close to the quilt! I really like looking at the details on the quilts I do for other people. This will be fun to quilt once the stitch in the ditch is finished. I am off to the studio to get the quilting started!

It's a family affair here at Wazoo...Molly is waiting to play when we take a break. She travels with her skunk toy. What a hoot she is.

Busy quilting day at Wazoo

I started my day by finishing the big customer quilt that has been on the frame for a week. Lots of thread breakage had me and Mr Wazoo re-timing the machine, changing the needle and anti-backlash spring, and adjusting the tension. I finally got everything working and was able to do the border with the metallic thread I had picked for the job. Whew! I hope Joanne likes it.

Mr Wazoo quilted a customer quilt before going outside to do some yard work, and I quilted the other quilt for the same customer in the late afternoon. This finish was the permission to play for me. I quilted one of the quilt tops I made at the class on Friday, and got the binding on. Then, I cut out some applique pieces for a project I am working on. Altogether, a fruitful day!

Customer jungle quilt

Don't you love this backing fabric?!

Customer cowboy quilt

My quilt ready for hand sewing.

Monkeys!!

Mystery bits!