I'm tired!!

Well, I put in a really long day without a break, but didn't finish the quilting. I have given myself three days, and will be going into number four tomorrow. I have to get this quilt done and get back to work!! Lots of progress, however, and I figure I am about two thirds done. Oh goody!!

I have to turn the overhead lights off to get a picture to come out.

Just a little sample...

Mr Wazoo used the glorious day to get some more yard work done. He has done a wonderful job dressing the side of the driveway. Really swanky!

Our new shrubs and gravel edging.

Farmer Tim. He has probably moved a ton of rock and gravel since he started messing with the yard. I'm glad I got him the tractor! Here, he is unloading a truck load of gravel.

With his tractor ramp all stained and the side of the driveway all dressed up, we are the envy of the neighborhood. Well, maybe just the bears...

Now that summer is waning, he finally planted the big blue pots, too. They look really nice!

Nice!!

Finally, something for customers to enjoy before they walk in.

Well, I have my feet up and a beverage to sip...tomorrow will be the push to the finish on the show quilt. Until then...here's what we see when we quit for the day and go up to the living part of the house.

Done with part one!!

Yesterday, I worked on my show quilt, stitching every ditch and going around all the applique. When I got to the bottom of the quilt, I noticed the side borders needed another flower and leaf. Sigh...I made a couple of flowers and some leaves and hand appliqued them on while the quilt was still on the frame. It required some acrobatics, but came out okay. Those big spaces would have driven me nuts, otherwise.

The new bits, made and placed

This is the other border.

All this was happening while I finished up the borders on the computer-quilted project. I also finished that quilt, and it is already home with the quilter, and getting binding before becoming a birthday gift for a daughter in Michigan!

This is a beautiful quilt! I love the pattern.

The borders are hand guided custom

The center pieced portion was done with digital panto: Greenery

A peek at the Grunge fabric on the back

After finishing and trimming the big customer quilt, I went back to my ditch stitching, and got it done right at quitting time.

The quilting starts today!!

Mr Wazoo spent the day in the yard, planting shrubs and moving gravel around. I'll be sure to get a couple of photos of his progress to post later today. Now, it's time to make our big Sunday breakfast and get going with the day.

Making progress

Today, I worked on two projects at once! I am teaching Mr Wazoo how to do a digital pattern on the APQS, as well as slogging through the stitch in the ditch on my show quilt. Didn't finish either one, but made progress.
Tomorrow, I will be trying to get something finished!!

Almost finished with the SID. Quilting starts in the morning.

Moving forward!

I finished quilting the third clothing quilt and just sewed the last stitches in the binding!! You know what that means...I am done!

This one is my favorite.

The Yodel panto is perfect for these quilts.

The same backing on all three

Binding on and finished!!

Mr Wazoo quilted today, too, finishing this bright quilt.

He likes to quilt on the smaller machine in the garage. Pretty quilt!

Super bright colors

The backing and panto: Tickle

And then, this happened...

I got the borders on my show quilt, made the backing and loaded it on the Gammill.

Yup! That's me!

I have given myself permission to put my own quilt before the ones I just got from other procrastinators. Tomorrow, I hope to have the stitch in the ditch done, and over the weekend, get the quilting finished. It has been weighing on my mind, and I need to do this. I had better get to bed...tomorrow will be a long day.

The magic number is three!

Today, I finished top number three made from a man's clothing. I really like how this one is turning out! Tomorrow, I will get it quilted and do the binding in the evening, like I did for number two.

Quilt number three

Just finished number two!

I would be remiss if I didn't share what Mr Wazoo accomplished indoors as well as outdoors. He has been using the beautiful weather to get the back steps stained, but also finished two quilting projects.

He worked on this one for two days. It's a biggie!

Panto: Big Splat

He also quilted this sweet quilt.

Panto: Daisy Swirl

Now, I am super tired and ready for the big snooze. Molly has a head start, snoring in her dog bed next to me as I'm typing. Tomorrow is another quilting adventure!

Working and fixing

I have two of the clothing quilts done, and just need to bind the second one. While I was quilting, my hopping foot went into a buttonhole of one of the shirt strips and created havoc on the quilt. Extricating it after it sewed itself into the quilt was a challenge, but I finally got it out. Unfortunately, it also made a rip in the backing, too. I finished the quilting (of course, this happened on the last row of the quilting) and once off the machine, made a patch and fixed the rip in the backing. Then, I put it back on and re-quilted the area where the patch is. When these unexpected things happen its always a bummer, but with a bit of extra TLC, the quilt can be fixed.

The patch

I also had the finished first quilt, so took the pics for you. All three quilts will have the same fabric on the back, and the same binding fabric.

And, yes!, I do still love my job.

Aaah...the weekend!

I switched Saturday work for Sunday play, and finished all the borders for my show quilt. Then, I backed the design squares with batting, and blanket stitched around all 20 of the little blocks in the body of the quilt. I haven't decided if I will trim away the batting, of just do small background fill to pat it down. We'll see. So now all the applique is done and the quilt is soaking in Synthrapol and hot water to dissolve the stabilizer and the glue. This is the first time I have used Sharon Schamber's method of applique, so I hope it turns out okay...fingers crossed!

The bottom border (laying on top of the quilt) before I stitched down the pieces.

Blanket stitch done around all the blocks.

It took all day to do all the sewing, so I only had a few minutes to devote to binding a comfort quilt for the day guild. Mr Wazoo did the quilting for me, and it looks really nice.

Ladies in the guild (including yours truly) made pink and white blocks used in comfort quilts for members fighting  breast cancer. 

Mr W chose the entwined hearts panto for the quilting.

Here's the back. The binding is in the same fabric. I applied it before quitting for the day, and did the hand sewing in the evening after supper. Its done and ready to give to a deserving member.

 I never showed you the repair I will be working on for a long time.This quilt is made of all polyester double knits. It must weigh twenty pounds! One of the fabrics has completely fallen apart. 92 squares, to be exact. I am replacing them with woven fabrics per customer request.

Its a trip around the world quilt, and some of the 'roads' are full of potholes!

Like this one.

Here are a few of the replacements I have sewn in so far.

This is the whole magilla. Ooh la la! Its a big one.

Today, I went back to customer work, by planning and sewing the blocks from clothing that I made last week. I have to make three quilts for the family, each one has a special shirt in it. The first one has two smaller squares that are dear to the customer, the other two have quite large focal point shirts.

Here are the blocks on the design wall for the first quilt.

Here it is, all sewn up and the borders on.

The black and red squares are the focal ones.

I used the button plackets and labels on the body of the quilt, and the pockets and his jeans in the borders.

The second quilt is now arranged on the design wall, with the car block being the focal point.

Tomorrow, I hope to have the second one sewn. Then I'll be in the home stretch!

And maybe I'll have a minute or two to plan the quilting for my rat quilt. We'll see what happens!