Another rainy day

                                                              Rain and more rain...

We quilted again today without pause, and got a lot done for the effort. Mr Wazoo is getting a bit stir crazy being stuck in the house, but I think he'll be okay tomorrow. (We're going to the farmer's market in the morning to see what's new.) I'll try to get a photo for the blog.

Here is a brief look at what we accomplished today.

I really like this French General fabric. It sure made for a beautiful quilt.
Mr Wazoo quilted it.

Panto: Featherize

This is the custom job I worked on all day. The stitch in the ditch took the morning to complete, and the block quilting ate up the rest of the day. I finished at about 6:15, and was just too pooped to trim it. I'll do that in the morning. The big square with the stems and flower pot gets ruched flowers when the customer gets the quilted project back from me.

Feather motif in the open blocks.

Add caption

It seems impossible to get a good picture of the quilting.
There is curved crosshatching in the setting triangles and feathering in the zig-zag parts.

Main block background fill

My customer came by today to show me the kimono robe she made for her daughter. I quilted the fabric last month, and she sewed the kimono in a class. I think it is really beautiful, and will thrill her daughter.

It started with this quilted fabric

Snazzy lining

On the way up to the house, I took a few pictures of the flowers in the rain. It is remarkable how fast they bloom! Even in the cool temperatures.

The clematis exploded into bloom today

Another variety of iris has opened, as well

Another variety of peony, too!

There are more of them ready to open. Wonderful!!

On a personal note; my youngest children (twins) turned forty today. Oo-ee! That makes the aging thing come to the forefront in a hurry. To Jenny and Carolyn, Happy Birthday! Welcome to middle age.

Long go, in a galaxy far, far away...

They grew into beautiful young women!

Gray day

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday, it was windy, rainy and raw outside...perfect for quilting! It is so much easier to stay indoors working when the weather is nasty outside. Luckily, I took some pictures the day before, when the sun was shining and the birds were singing!

I said I would post some Mountain Laurel photos, so here they are!
The flowers start out as little pink star-puffs, and then open into the delicate white blooms.

The stamen are 'stuck' to the petals, giving the flower this symmetrical look.

Along with the customer quilt dyring on the railing, the flag and barn quilt finish the picture of a perfect quilt house!

Front garden is filling in nicely

Complete with a lush border of phlox.

Mr Wazoo spent yesterday inside, quilting some cheery quilts.

Our customer made all the blocks in the Farmer's wife pattern, and now, has enough for several quilts!

Cheerful and sweet in these fabrics.
Panto: Splat

nice check backing, too.

Same customer, small wall hanging

Panto: Wandering Daisies

The tee shirt quilts keep on rolling in...

The go-to panto is Dazzle

He also quilted this sweet rainy day baby quilt

Panto: Modern Loop

Not to be left out of the show, I worked on custom quilts. 

This beautiful little wall hanging was expertly appliqued

This dimensional Mexican Star is another lovely wall hanging

This baby quilt was a challenge.
The customer sewed and turned the quilt, making quilting difficult.

Stitch in the ditch and simple quilting patterns did the trick!

At quitting time, I loaded this quilt for the morning.

Settling in and working hard

We have been quilting as much as possible since I got home from Kentucky, and I am so happy to be catching up on my custom projects. Mr Wazoo is using the small machine in the garage while doing routine maintenance and tune up on the big Gammill in the studio. I miss him buzzing away in the room with me, but I can still hear him next door.

It is getting to be graduation time, and the tee shirt quilts
are rolling in. I love the sashing on this customer quilt.

Our favorite tee shirt panto, Dazzle

Not a tee shirt quilt, but in the school colors for the
grad-to- be to take along to college. Look at those cool corners!

Hey, Dazzle looks good on this, too!

I had a couple of quilts that needed digital pantos I have on the computer, so they moved along well while I did some catch up paperwork. Today, I'll be back doing hand guided quilting. There are also two bins of new shirts for customer commission tee shirt quilts to be prepped. Off to the studio!

A proud Grandma made this for her ballerina granddaughter.

The digital design is feminine and elegant

So pretty!

This is a memory quilt that the customer made out of her Dad's ties.
I love the design she came up with.

I did a manly geometric digital panto on this one.

This quilt is a treasure to the customer and her family. It is the last quilt her mother made before passing away. Mama hand quilted most of the quilt, but didn't finish before passing, so the daughter brought it to me to machine finish. She wanted it finished by machine so they would know which part her mama did. Last night, I added dark green binding and did the hand sewing, and today, it is done and taking a spin in the washer to get the slightly musty smell out. The daughter is giving it to her father next week. Such a touching story, and a perfect gift.

The yard is exploding with blooms because of the perfect amount of rain and sun we've had lately. I wish you could smell the heady mix of scent on the breeze here. With the addition of the opening peonies, it is even more wonderful!

The first peony! So big, even with a hoop it drooped over.
Smells like Spring!

The side garden is filling in nicely. Soon, it will be a full on riot of color and texture.

The rock garden does its own thing without any help from Mr W. I love the different foliage colors and types. Oh yeah...the fragrant pink drift roses are great, too!

Things are growing in the front yard, and the garden is taking shape.

The Mountain Laurel is beginning to bloom. I'll get a closer picture today so you can see the delicate flowers.

The mountain was brown just a couple of weeks ago, and is now green and lush.

                                     

Home again

Another slideshow design by Smilebox

We got back to Georgia last evening after a stop in Chattanooga to look at my new machine a bit closer and without a crowd trying to get to it at the same time. Yes, I bought a new machine at Paducah, and will have it in a couple of weeks. Bernina had a deal where if you bought the 770QE at the show, they threw in a 330. Okay...I know you're saying, "yeah, right...you paid for the 330 anyway." This really isn't true in a retail world, but with the mark-up from wholesale, I guess it would be true. The show price was way less than their regular retail, but when I pay the Georgia tax on it, I lose half the discount! Well, its a done deal, and I'm watching You-tube videos and dreaming of the day the machine is back in stock and comes home with me. Mr Wazoo is excited for me, which makes the buy even sweeter.

The Mother lode, 770QE 

The basic 330 machine, perfect for transport to class.

On the last day in Paducah, we did the journey to quilting Mecca, Hancock's of Paducah, and I was very good, spending less than $200 in the store. You had to really look at the prices on the bolts to find the bargains, but I got what I wanted and was pleased at how quickly I got the fabric cut and checked out. I missed the chaos of the flat fold sale, but had a good time there anyway.

Just looking out over the mass of fabric makes my heart go pitty-pat.

Three employees on each cutting table! Yikes!
My pile is just starting on the left...the two red fabrics.

Now, I need to get to work and start earning some money to pay for the machine as well as the stuff I bought at the vendors.

 It was a great trip. I would encourage everyone to check out Air B&B if you want to avoid the hassle of looking for hotel rooms. We rented a small house (two bedrooms) across the street from the show venue, and two blocks from the Dome! For less $ per night than a hotel, we had a place to sit and chat in the evening, prepare our own breakfast and lunch, and sleep in the quiet environment a house provides. We already booked it for next year! Well worth looking on line for.

I'll get the slideshow put together and get it on here soon. No photos of all the quilts, but more of a highlight reel. 

Back to quilting!