Working weekend

Mr Wazoo worked in the yard over the weekend and got everything cleaned up and organized before winter comes. That's a good thing. Having him outside lets me have some fun inside! I cranked up the Hallmark channel and overdosed on Christmas chick-flicks while working in the studio. Here is what transpired...

I have had this panel since my first trip to Japan. I finally got it quilted and ready to finish for a great Christmas gift.

The pattern is a simple Orange Peel, but works well with the design on the fabric.

Some pretty oriental floral fabric on the back.

Pardon the photo-bomber...My daughter bought this hand inked fabric in Bali and asked if I could quilt it for her. She has a long expanse of wall over the head of her bed and will hang it on the wall there.

A simple leaf design in the quilting won't detract from the delicate designs.

Bleached muslin back.

Meanwhile...I rummaged through my bin of panels and found some chicken fabric that begged me to use it and not put the lid back on.I cut the blocks apart and messed around with frames and sashing ideas while quilting on the Millie.

Maybe red...in rows?

Bok bok bok...NO!!

Red, and maybe some yellow in a checkerboard? Tilted chickens?
Oh dear, I'll have to play some more tomorrow.

I did manage to quilt one customer project today. This delectable mountains quilt reminded me of mornings here on the mountain when we're in the clouds. It looks like regular fog from inside the house, but when you drive down the mountain and look back, there are the clouds...resting among the trees on the mountainside. So, I chose a cloud panto for the pattern. I like it!

Mountains in the twilight...maybe reflecting on a lake...

Panto: Oriental clouds

And a beautiful night sky on the back. Ooh la la!

After that, I quilted a great big purple quilt for a customer who is coming Tuesday to drop another big quilt. She is making everyone a quilt for Christmas, and wants them all quilted with heart patterns. This one is number two.

Someone will have a nice Christmas when they get this handmade gift

Panto: Hearts

The backing.

Big doings here yesterday! We had a whole house water filter installed! Now, we can drink water from the tap as well as not worry about turning orange from all the minerals in the water. Hopefully, the orange ring at the waterline in the toilets will be a distant memory soon, too. Yippee!

Not very pretty, but it is in the bathroom in the studio, so it doesn't matter. It's very quiet, too. Not a sound from it!

It has been rainy and windy, so most of the leaves are off, but the maples are still glorious. These are in my yard and just across the street. Don't you love Fall?

What's going on? Where are you?

My easy answer is , North Carolina. My beautiful daughter had a seizure. Not a small one, the granddaddy of seizures. I quickly drove to NC to be with her and help get her over this hump in life. The whole story is too long for a blog, but let's just say we are dealing with epilepsy, a seizure disorder. Not good for a young professional...and really not good for her Mom and Dad. Thankfully, she had the best of care at the hospital where she is a P.A. and has gone home on medication with orders of what to do and not to do. I got home today.

The room was spartan, and really strange

Yes, there was a toilet in a cabinet...right in the room. Like a prison cell.

My girl took it all in stride and smiled for the EEG

Well, sort of.

24 hours of brain waves

Patrick the tech was meticulous. It took 3 hours to put the leads on.

I went to the apartment for a few minutes every day to feed and humor Maxine while she was on her own.

Mr Wazoo quilted his heart out while I was gone, but I'm not sure if he took any pictures. He took in quilts, quilted a few and and gave some to waiting customers. He was a trooper!

As soon as I got home, I finished the quilt I was working on before the trip, as well as sewing up the cloth book for my grandson.

All done!

In the center, pantograph, Flower Festival.

In the borders, piano keys and feathers.

Very lovely quilt!

A soft book about our family. ha ha

I love the pictures.

Home and happy. Work resumes in earnest tomorrow.

Tee shirt quilt finish

I thought today would be fun, and it was!! We started out with a facetime call from my grandson who will be two next week. He is so happy and carefree...a wonderful way to start the day.
We didn't get to the studio until afternoon because of shopping errands that had to be done. But once we were there, the machines were revved up and humming. I started by finishing the tee shirt quilt with the shadows. It turned out fantastic! I think the customer will love it.

The colors are so nice, and the shadows totally cool.

Panto: Flower Power

The backing is grunge in this soothing teal.

All bound and ready to go.

I also worked on the custom borders for the quilt Mr Wazoo started. The customer wanted the center done with a panto and the border done custom. It is a sweet, feminine quilt, with a hand appliqued border.

It should be finished tomorrow

Mr Wazoo worked, too, and finished this more sophisticated Autumn quilt.

Panto:Flourish

After finishing the quilt, Mr W gave Molly a bath. What a guy!!

You can just see Molly's face on the left. Poor baby...she hates the bath.

It may have rained all day, but we didn't care. Any day filled with quilting is a sunny day.

Fun and games at Wazoo

Well, maybe not games, but lots of fun! I have been working on this tee shirt quilt for a couple of days, and it has been so much fun!! The logos are small, so I decided to use one of those shadow illusion looks to make the blocks. I found a tutorial for a small pattern on Debora Exum's blog, Studio Dragonfly, and adjusted it to fit a larger block. The tee shirts are very pretty colors, and make a nice quilt. I should be able to finish the top and get it quilted tomorrow.

First, I sorted the tee shirts into color piles

After ironing on the stabilizer, I cut the shirts to 8 1/2 inch squares

I kept the interesting little bits for later...

I'm going to pick these labels off and use them on my own quilts. I love them!

After adding the gray 'shadow' fabric, I started the background parts. I love how it is turning out!!

The little blocks have the cutest sayings.

This is my favorite because I am a half full kind of gal.

Mr Wazoo had some yard clean-up and maintenance to do, but still managed to get a quilt done. This Christmas table topper is really pretty and a reminder that I had better think of shopping soon!

This table topper has a unique and interesting shape.

Panto: Holly berry, of course!

I also did the quilting on a modern Seminole quilt today. I chose a chevron pattern to coordinate with the Seminole piecing. The customer hand dyed the border fabric and chose her other fabrics to go with it. I think it is an innovative use of modern fabrics for a traditional technique.

Unfortunately, Mr Wazoo took in this quilt while I was at guild. He didn't write down the instructions very well and I went ahead and quilted and trimmed it. When the customer came to pick it up, she asked why I hadn't added the five inch borders all around. I had no clue she wanted me to do this, so I just looked stupid, and apologized profusely for the error. Mr W said he didn't remember the instructions. I gave her the quilt without charge. How embarrassing!! I couldn't think of how to remedy the situation besides giving her the quilting free. She was disappointed, but gracious, and said she would still use us for quilting. I don't have to be mad at Mr W, he is doing a swell job beating up on himself without my help. Oh well, sh*t happens, and we move on.

Pastel Seminole

Chevron quilting

Cornflower blue linen backing.

I should have a good day tomorrow...sewing and quilting the tee shirt quilt. I may bake some cookies. After all, its so easy a two year old can do it!

I couldn't resist...isn't he cute?!

Halloween is coming!

Today, we got right back to work and finishing some autumn projects. I left the scarecrow door hanging on the design wall while we went to Texas, so today I added the sleeve and binding and finished it! It looks festive on the studio door.

Mr Wazoo was busy in the man cave, doing the panto Flower Festival on the center portion of this quilt. Then, he re-pinned it to the big Gammill for me to finish the custom work in the borders tomorrow.

I had Halloween on my to-do list. First, I added borders to this skeleton panel and quickly quilted it with the APQS digital panto: Spiderweb. The backing was a bargain somewhere years ago, and perfect for this project.

The small border is little skeletons frolicking around. I've had that fabric for twenty years or more. 

Here is the quilting.

My $2 a yard backing.

Next, I had a special request from a customer to have her Halloween quilt done for the grandkids. Thank goodness we still have the big Gammill! I quilted it with the paper panto: Gossamer, which looks like spiderwebs! This one really glows in the dark. I took it into the small bathroom in the studio, and it didn't disappoint. Lookie, Cookie!

Here's the quilt in the light

Gossamer is a good panto for Halloween

He's creepy and he's spooky...

he's altogether ooky!

The eyeballs fabric glowed, too!!

We had a fun day without too many interruptions, and that put us back on track with the quilts in the queue. Mr W will be on the road tomorrow to visit his mother. I'll be here quilting and enjoying the cool weather outside.
 Here is a last look at my Dad on his 95th birthday, and the rest of the motley crew who were there to celebrate with him. I hope I am as healthy and spry when I'm 95!! I know I'll be quilting...

My Dad

Dad, my sister in law, my brother, me and Mr W