2017 review

I realized I hadn't photographed all the quilts I made in 2017. Sometimes, I'll make a charity or comfort quilt and hand it off without taking its picture! My bad. Anyhoo, here are the pictures I did take, and I am working to get the first of 2018 finished this week. Yup...I'm hooked on quilting.

My Brother's Quilt of Valor

Customer commissioned Georgia Tech tee shirt quilt

Charity log cabin

Miniature storm at sea

Challenge: Office

Challenge: Glasses

Challenge: TV

Charity, Girl's home

Charity, Kids

Charity, Kids

Christmas Gift

Charity, girl's home

Miniature

Charity, Nursing home

Charity, Kids

Charity, family whose house burned

Charity, Kids

Customer commissioned memory quilt. One of three

#2 commission

#3commission

Show quilt

Table runner for silent auction

Show quilt

Donation, Quilt of Valor

Donation, Second Wind

Show quilt

Commissioned customer quilt from antique fabrics

Commissioned FL Seminole tee shirt quilt

Baby quilt, given as a gift

Second FL Seminole tee shirt quilt for same customer

Bears for Boutique

Table runner for Boutique

Commissioned auction quilt for Christian School. I made two of these.

25 chicken pin cushions for boutique

Charity, Nursing home

Charity, Kids

Hummingbird quilt

Charity, Second Wind

Charity, Girl's home

Sample for BOM Class

#2 quilt for Christian School

Commission from table cloth

Charity, Kids

Second commission from same table cloth

African fabrics quilt

Door decoration

Charity, Kids

Commissioned tee shirt quilt

Soft book. I made two different ones

Christmas gift

Huge wall quilt, Christmas gift

Chicken quilt

Commissioned customer quilt from antique linens and laces

Commissioned tee shirt quilt

Commissioned tee shirt quilt

Commissioned tee shirt quilt

Christmas gift bed quilt

I Spy Christmas gift

I started back to work on Monday, and am custom quilting this unique quilt. I have tinted the flowers that are quilted on the surface. I hope the customer likes it...I should have it finished later today. I'll show the whole quilt then.

I did the tint with crayons. I tried this on my Rat Race quilt with great results

The quilt has a dress form with flowers for the dress. This is the exposed top of the form

The flowers are the colors of the flowers on the dress

Over last weekend, I made this quilt. I'm getting the backing today at my local quilt shop. They're having a sale!! I love sales.

More later. On with 2018!

Last quilt...First quilt

Yesterday, I finished putting together the quilt top I started on a whim. No more purchases were made to finish it, the quilt shop is closed until Tuesday. I would have preferred a dark blue outer border, but had the red floral in my stash, so I used it! It is the last quilt top I made in 2017. With no suitable backing...it also becomes the first quilt of 2018. I'll get some backing on Tuesday and finish it up.

Blocks finished and auditioned with an alternate block fabric

Adding setting triangles

Sewing the rows together

Finished! A nice queen sized quilt.

Mr Wazoo is struggling with the flu, but managed to quilt this customer project before he was too ill to stand up for long periods.

The quilt is done and already sent back to the customer in Florida

He used the panto Angel Wings, because it mimics the butterflies

The last customer quilt of 2017 was this tee shirt quilt for a grandson. It will go home on Tuesday...January 2, 2018. Mind boggling, isn't it?

This should be a hit with the young man!

Tonight I'll be watching the ball drop in my jammies with a glass of bubbly and some Christmas cookies. Mr Wazoo will have his shot of NyQuil and be snoring in the New Year. I bet you wish your life was as exciting as ours is!!

Happy New Year, everyone.

The Wazoo quilters

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!!

We had a wonderful Christmas with two of our kids and the littlest grandson, Dechen. One day, we'll have everyone here, and what a blast that will be! Until that day, we are so grateful for the family spread out over the states and unable to make it here.
All the cookies were a hit, and Christmas dinner with friends and family was a joyous occasion. I read on a blog that knowing Christmas is 365 days away gives one a sense of power. It gives me hope. Hope for a better year to come and everyone here next time.

Merry Christmas from our family!

Mr Santa got me these shelves for the studio and put them up for Christmas.

The last batch of cookies!

Andy and Dechen share some cookies

Grandson watches trains on Mama's phone

Getting into his stocking

Grandma's tree is full of sparkling surprises

We start quilting in a few days, but we are enjoying the time together while we can. Happy New Year, to my readers. Do something creative in 2018.

A Change of Plan...

Yesterday, I had another marathon baking day, finishing a few more cookie types and making the dough for cut outs. I had a minor disaster when all the pecan Tassies stuck to the pans...threw out the entire batch. No Tassies this year. Otherwise, everything went smoothly and ,in the end, I had the kitchen back to normal. (which means you can see the countertop!)

Snickerdoodles cooling on the rack, the next batch in the oven

My trusty Kitchen Aid took a beating, but was lovingly cleaned at the end of the day. Job well done!

The fancy decorated cookies come tomorrow.
Here is a sample of the finished cookies: Cherry snowballs, one surviving Tassie, Rangers, Peanut Blossoms, Chocolate haystacks, 7-layer bars,Chocolate M&M pretzels, Italian Wedding cookies, Chocolate dipped Ritz bits, Double chocolate chip cookies, Snickerdoodles, and Lemon Poppyseed tea cookies.

I also made some Toffee-chocolate candies and the dough for sugar cookie cut outs. The only thing left to do is Spritz and fudge. Then I pack up boxes for the kids who can't be here, and a few friends. We got a box from Andy's in-laws in Japan, and once again have bags and boxes of mystery snacks! Mr Wazoo especially likes sampling them and figuring out what each one is. I send my home made cookies and some snacks they don't have there, like Chex Mix. Mine gets there for New Year's Day. Theirs is always on time for Christmas...sigh.

The cookie stash is growing!

Our gift from Japan. It's a mystery to us what these things are...

The box going to Japan. There will be Chex Mix and some Godiva treats, too.

Chocolate Toffee candies

Molly got her holiday fluff and buff, so she's all ready for her close-up

Today I'll be on the road. I am going to NC to get Carolyn for Christmas. We'll chill there overnight and head back here tomorrow morning early. Andy, Chikako and Dechen come tomorrow evening, and then the fun begins.

Merry Christmas to everyone out there in blogland. Enjoy you day as much as I hope we will.

Countdown to Christmas!!

Back from NC and in high gear to get the final tasks accomplished before Christmas. First, and most important, I am DONE shopping!! Yesterday, I wrapped the gifts while baking the first batch of Christmas cookies, and got them under the tree.

The last two quilts are bound, wrapped and under the tree.

The tree even looks good in the morning sunlight!

Oooo!! Presents for everyone.

We had one procrastinating customer bring a tee shirt quilt for her grandson, and we couldn't say no. I quilted it quickly and she'll have it in the mail today. I'll bet she was binding like crazy last night. Not me! I watched Holiday Inn for the umteeth time, and went to bed early. I will be baking all day today, so I needed my cookie-sleep!

I'm sure Grandma is happy to have this done!

Ha ha ha!! Me either!!

Panto: Dazzle, of course.

Have a jingle bell day, dear readers!

• 
  

No quilting...just family fun!

We are in Charlotte for the weekend, visiting Carolyn and preparing for our stellar Christmas gift from her...we're going to the Packers game!! The Packers play the Charlotte Panthers today, and we have tickets! Merry Christmas!!
While we've been here, Mr Wazoo assembled an IKEA dresser, and I set up the Christmas tree and repaired the quilt I made years ago for her bed. The binding had come undone on one side for about 4 inches. No biggie, a few minutes with needle and thread, and she's good to go.

New dresser with the appropriate decorations

Tree up and ready for the ornamentation

Bento Box quilt, all fixed.

The cat watched me sew, making sure I wasn't doing anything wrong.

She tries to squeeze her fluff into the smallest window perch!

While we took over the apartment, Carolyn participated in a Christmas 5K run. They gave the participants a shirt and headgear to wear. Here are a few pictures of that.

Long underwear under your clothes was the order of the day, since the temperature was 28 degrees!!

The Charlotte skyline behind the runners.

It really is a beautiful city.

Our weekend is winding down, and after the game and dinner out, we'll get a good night's sleep and make the drive home tomorrow. It has been a rejuvenation weekend, sleeping in without a dog waking me up at 6 to go out...Molly has been staying with her pal, Bullwinkle, and his family. She has had the time of her life with new smells and lounging on their couch by the fire. Ah, a dog's life

I'm ready!!

Quiet day at Wazoo

 I went to my block of the month class this morning, but only three of us came. The schools were closed in the county and some people had issues with their driveways and roads, too. With time to kill, I went to the mart of Wal and did a bit of Christmas prep. I found the truck I was looking for as well as another group of smaller vehicles to go with it. I also got some of the needed supplies for cookies. All in all, a good shopping trip.
Back at home, I spent the rest of the day in the studio finishing quilts. The binding is on the comfort quilt, the binding for Carolyn's quilt is ready to be put on, and Dechen's Eye Spy is quilted and trimmed. When I get home tomorrow, I should be able to get those two things done.

I spy with my little eye...a quilt for Christmas!

I used a red check for the inner border and the cute alphabet print for the border.

Bugs on the back with the orange peel quilting.
The binding is solid red.

Tomorrow is the guild Christmas party. I sure hope the county has school back in session so we can all get together and have a grand time!