Home again, home again, jiggety-jog

I arrived safely at home today at 2pm. By six o'clock I had quilted a name and date onto a customer quilt and made and applied binding to another.

Personalized Christmas quilt

Great quilt for a veteran for his birthday

Love the fabrics!

Panto: Star Spangled Banner

Mr Wazoo had been busy in my absence, quilting customer projects and working on his 'new' shed.

Mr Wazoo did this pretty bear paw quilt

Panto: Alfresco

You always wondered where the rainbow's end was...
it was in our front yard during a shower while I was gone!

The shed, as seen from the deck.

We decided the bird decoration and weather vane need to be repainted a
 contrasting color so they show up better.

On the drive, I saw some nice vistas and at the hotel, a funny post-it note for me on the headboard!

Wind farms in Illinois

While adjusting the thermostat, I spied a little note on the headboard

Oh dear! I should hope so!!

The trip was worth it for me. I got to see my best friend from High School, as well as the other classmates who came. I spent quality time with my kids and grandkids, and visited with relatives I haven't seen in years. The memorial for my mom was very nice, closing another chapter in my life.
It is good to be home!

A happy day at the reunion

A sad day at the cemetery

The depot and grain elevators in my family's hometown.

Wisconsin ramblings

 I have been in Wisconsin for five days now, and after the class reunion tomorrow, I will be packing up and heading home to Georgia. I arrived last Monday, and hit the ground running with a shop hop arranged by my sister, who also quilts.

Like the sign says, Open for Business!

My childhood home

I love this state!

Wonderful old barn across from one of the quilt shops

This was a great shop waaaaay out in the country!

The shop is attached to the owner's home! Her garden was lovely. That's her in the picture.

I met up with my son and his wife, and we all went for a hike in a near by park. My grandson loves to go for a ride in his buggy, and also loves ice cream!

We hiked this beautiful prairie park

My son and his wife, with the baby in the buggy

After hiking, a trip to Culvers for ice cream!

I love this happy grandson!

Tomorrow, I have a couple more quilt shops to visit, a last hurrah with the baby and then my 45th class reunion. Sunday, I pack the car and head for home. It has been a wonderful visit, but the Gammill is calling!

A day without a quilt is like a day without sunshine!

My plan for today was to make a quilt for my friend who I am going to see at the class reunion. She recently lost her husband, and I thought a quilt would be a nice sympathy gesture. I had already cut the strips for a quilt at the last retreat, but didn't get to sew it together there, so I decided to make it today.
I got all the blocks made and assembled into the quilt body by lunchtime.

After lunch, I added a small inner border and an outer border to make it a nice couch sized quilt, 62 x 73.
I got the back made and then it was off to the quilting races.

Borders on! Ready for quilting.

All quilted, binding made and applied. Ready for hand sewing and its only 5:30!
I think that's a new record for me; made the whole quilt and quilted it, added binding, too...seven hours of work.

I had the panto Primrose swirl already on the table, so I used it again.

I bought the fabric for the backing for the horse blanket I did for a customer  few months ago.
This quilt was just right for the leftover pieces.

During the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, I did the hand sewing and finished the quilt! Tomorrow, I'll get a label on it.

Done!!

Here's a recap of the last two weeks charity work. The customer quilts are all back with their happy owners. I change gears tomorrow and get the car ready, pack and do a little last minute shopping for Mr Wazoo's food.

Homeless shelter quilts

Comfort quilts

More sewing, more quilting, more excavation.

After a couple of days messing about sewing I figured I had better get back to serious quilting. Before going to Wisconsin, I needed to quilt a very large quilt. It is too large for Mr Wazoo's machine, so it fell to me to quilt it. I have to say, for a giant quilt, it was perfect!! Square at all corners, flat as a pancake and all blocks perfectly sewn. Wow. And it is beautiful, too.

Panto: Featherize

Mr Wazoo spent the entire day either moving rocks, or watching the dirt man move them with the bobcat. The surface for the shed is level and ready, the rip-rap has been distributed along the drainage ditch next to the driveway, and the driveway has had a smoothing. So far, so good! I'll be gone when the shed actually comes, so it will be a surprise when I get back.

They got straight to work at 9:00

You can just see Mr Wazoo in his red shirt at the far end of the driveway.
Most of the rip-rap is in place, and he is cleaning out the culvert.

Gee, the house looks nice from here1

All level and ready for the shed.

Drainage ditch complete!

I had an hour free at the end of the day, so I made a backing for another of my sister's quilt tops and got it quilted. I had the African fabric for the backing  which was perfect for the quilt! The binding is a basket weave patterned fabric from my stash.

Here is a peek at the African ladies backing.

Now, all I have to do is the hand sewing! Miss Marple is on tonight, and I will be stitching while I figure out 'who-dunnit'!

Some sewing, some quilting, some dirt.

I started the day finishing the borders and sewing them on the quilt from yesterday. I stopped there,

because I really needed to do some customer quilting!

                                         

I'm starting to really like this quilt!

   Mr Wazoo spent the day outside in a supervisory position and getting filthy doing it. More later on this. Meanwhile, I quilted a customer project with a panto that is too big to be done on his machine.
The colors are more vibrant than the photos, more turquoise than what shows up here.

Pretty delectable mountains in shades of turquoise.
Some of the fabrics have metallic bits, too.

Panto: Primrose swirl

The back is black with gold flecks. There are a couple of blocks in the center, too.
I forgot to take that picture. My bad.

  Then there was dirt. Loads and loads of dirt. Mr Wazoo has bought a shed (got a great bargain on the shed), and he had to get the area for it filled with dirt since it is on such a steep slope. Trucks came and went all day, dumping dirt  and tamping it down. Then they smoothed it out and leveled it. There is at least a three foot drop from the dirt to the driveway on the down slope. That's a lot of dirt!! Mr Wazoo was shoveling and taking out rocks all morning before the dirt men came, so he is filthy with the red clay soil we have here.

I heard the rumble outside and stuck my head out of the studio to see what was happening.
They had dropped off the Bobcat and one load of dirt.

Mr Wazoo had cut all the low limbs before they got here. The workmen took down two small trees, too.

I didn't take the picture sideways...that's how steep the slope of the driveway is. This was load number 4. 

Mr Wazoo 'supervising' load number 5.

Six loads later, it is done! The Bobcat man leveled the dirt
while Tim and the dirt man watched. (He's behind the truck)
I took the pictures from the deck.

      Tomorrow, they will be moving rocks around and grading. All for a bargain of a shed. Sigh...                            

Oh dear...I sewed again, and I liked it.

Oh well, I guess I needed another day of sewing to get my mojo back. I already had some of the blocks made for the next part of the pattern, so I figured I would go ahead and assemble them before starting work. I never got to work...sewing took over and I was in the groove.

By lunch time, I was here

Three o'clock...here

Believe it or not, it took another hour to get here.
I auditioned eight different fabrics before settling on this one for the inner border.

Six o'clock, and I had all the flying geese done and started planning the next border.

I ran out of room for these on the design wall.

I would have had the geese sewn together and sewn to the quilt top, but I had a customer come with a quilt. Not just any quilt, but the most fascinating, intricate and wonderful quilt I have ever had in the studio!! I am drooling over this one. Here's just a sneak peek at what's waiting for me in the studio
.

You know I'll be at work tomorrow, don't you?!