Sew it up!!

I spent today sewing the finishing touches on two of the sibling quilts. Tomorrow, I will get the last one quilted and bound.

Binding done!

It looks good on this side, too!

The borders on, the backing and top  loaded and ready for quilting.

Mr Wazoo worked in his man cave quilting this sampler. I was gone for a while today, helping clean, re-stock and prepare the machines and sewing kits for Quilt Camp. A kittle distraction from an otherwise busy day.

You're not having deja vu, the quilter took a class with her friend, whose sampler we have already quilted! It really is a lovely pattern.

Its hard to see the wonderful pattern of the pantograph: Come Dance With Me.

The backing is beautiful, as well.

In the afternoon, I had an hour to spare, so I went ahead and quilted this charity quilt for a man recipient.

The fabric combination is quite manly.

I used a simple meander for the quilting.

You can see the quilting better on the back.

Tomorrow we will be working on these quilts. They are both loaded and ready to go. 

After supper, I did a few more squares on the trip-around-the -world quilt, but my aching arm made sewing difficult enough to quit. I wish it would hurry and get better!!

I'll be doing this

Mr W will do this. It is another of the block of the month class projects. Isn't it a smashing combination of colors?!

A rare fun day

Yesterday was a rare day for me at Wazoo. I didn't do customer work. I needed to rest my arm and foot, so I took it easy and played with the antique blocks I bought in Paducah. They have been on the design wall for a while, and I knew I needed to add alternate blocks to make a decent size quilt with them. I had a bag of 165 Civil War reproduction four patches, and decided to use some of them in this project.  I fiddled with how to use 4 1/2 inch blocks to make an 11 inch block, and came up with a chain-type block. There was math involved (yuk) and had to cut pieces with scant 1/8 inch increments. Because none of the initial blocks are the exact same size, there will be some points cut off no matter what I do, but I'm okay with that. Here are a couple of pictures of the process so far. I have them in a straight set, but may go back to the on-point set after I reposition them and take a look. No sewing of these today. I have to work.

Here are the original blocks. I made one more to get  an even 16

I shifted them to a straight set and laid in the four patches

After adding the center strips, the alternate blocks are done

Mr Wazoo finished the last of four quilts for one customer before going outside to spread a truckload of mulch. Chiggers had a field day with him and he is covered with bites!! Maybe they hitched a ride in the mulch...

This was another quilt with a too small backing. I added six inches to the top and bottom of the back after a call to the quilter. Mr W quilted right to the pins on this one! I guess he needed seven inches...oops.

Panto: Splat

I like the cheater backing.

I snapped these two having breakfast at our flower buffet on my way to the studio. Another rain storm in the late afternoon sent us indoors on the back porch for a beer and some conversation. All in all, it was a fun, laid back day. Now, back to work.

Butterfly and bee having an al fresco breakfast

Mr W will have to weigh in on what the plant is...I  don't know what it is.

Sewing and quilting

It has been a time of sewing for me, with a bum arm and a throbbing heel spur keeping me from standing at the longarm for long periods of time. The quilts for the family of the deceased quilter are almost all done. and her husband was thrilled to pick up two yesterday. A Daughter in law and a sister in law will be getting quilts this weekend! Here is quilt number three, waiting for the binding to go on tomorrow, and the quilt I made today. It needs the outer border and the backing assembled. Once it is quilted and bound, my job will be done.

Here is the flimsy before borders...

and after borders!

After quilting

panto, Climbing ivy

Pieced back

This is the flimsy I made today.Not my choice of colors or fabrics, but I think its okay.

I laid the final border on the corner to see how its going to look.
Tomorrow I'll add the border and see what I can piece together as a back. I may have to wait until Monday, and get a back from the quilt shop.

Mr Wazoo has been busy with four quilts for the same customer. They all have piecing issues and wavy borders, so he was grumbling in the man cave. I'm happy to have a good distance between us when we are working! For what he was given, I think he has done a stellar job so far.

Number one is a partridge in a pear tree! The fabric, that is...

Panto: Trailing vine

The triangles in the border were all cut and sewn with the bias on the outside edge! Oh dear!

Panto: Featherize

This one features cats front and back!

Panto: Cat's paws

I worked on other customer quilts with the APQS, so I didn't have to stand at the machine the entire time.There are some good things about computer guided quilting...

This is the quilt that had the too small back. I fixed that and got it quilted without going off onto the added fabric. It was a bit fiddly, but worth it.

Panto: Frolic

Yippee! The back is perfect.

This is a comfort quilt for the guild. Comfort quilts are made by our members and given to any member who is coping with an extremely stressful time in their life. The fabrics are soothing and calm, and the quilt is a warm hug from the sisters of the cloth.

I always quilt them with happy patterns, like Flower power.

The binding is on, and I will finish the hand sewing tonight.

I snapped this picture after work. I always walk outside to get a breath of fresh air before starting round two of work...making supper. I converted the photo to black and white because I think the contrast between the blackening sky and the sun on the dead tree is cool looking. Just a bit of fun at the end of another work day.

Yup...it rained buckets right after I took the picture.

Plugging along

Yesterday, I achieved my goal of quilting the tee shirt quilt, getting the blocks made for the next customer commission, and quilting one customer quilt. I will put the binding on the tee shirt quilt and make the top of the commission today. Hopefully, I can also trace the motifs for the African quilt, as well, and get that going in the right direction! I do have a couple of customers coming with quilt tops, so that will take some time away from work. We'll get there.
Mr Wazoo will be inside today, doing some quilting to keep up with his quilts. the siren song of the beautiful weather and the blooming garden is strong, but he is resisting. For that, I will be making his favorite, meatloaf, for dinner. One hand washing the other!
Off to work!

My octogenarian customer, Ruth, made this batik strip quilt 

I quilted it with the panto Time Warp

A peek at the back

The tee shirt quilt is ready for binding. I did a lot of picking on this one.
The pockets I added got distorted when the machine sewed over them.

Panto: Dazzle

The back is a dusty purple which doesn't show well here.

Block parts ready to sew for the next commission.

The last task of the day was to add to all four sides of this customer backing to make it big enough to load on the machine. I will quilt it today.

More flower pictures from Mr W's gardens.
Just for you, Georgia!

The back garden is mostly shrubs and ground covers. That is to keep maintenance to a minimum due to the extreme slope of the land.

A touch of color on the back porch.

Pink Knock-Out roses blooming. Mmmm! The scent is wonderful.

Clamatis and roses blooming together in front of the propane tank.
For some reason, the red roses come out dark pink in pictures...

Roses and daisies in the side garden

The yellow roses are the most fragrant. They start out with dark yellow buds, and turn more cream color as they mature. I can smell them from the studio when the window is open!

The two planters by the back steps. The first flowers we see in the morning and the last we see when the workday is done.