Are we boring?

My daughter called last night to check in and see what we're up to. I told her we were quilting and working in the yard most days. She seemed incredulous that we do the same thing every day. I pointed out that she and the rest of the kids aren't like a house on fire either...Get up, eat breakfast, work all day, go home, eat, maybe go out to sporting event or entertainment of some kind, go to bed. Lather, rinse, repeat!! Just because the things we do don't look exciting to the younger set, doesn't mean we aren't enjoying life!! I'm not bored with what I'm doing, or I wouldn't be doing it.
Okay, I'm done venting about the younger generation!
Yesterday, Gail and I worked on stuffing envelopes for show publicity, and mailing them to 80 quilt guilds and shops. Instead of going to town to do this, we drove to Cleveland, GA and to Quilt-n' Kaboodle quilt shop and poked around for a bit. I bought a gizmo that my friend Audrey had at retreat that cuts the thread between chain pieced blocks. I love it!! I got my money's worth out of it when I got home, making the blocks for the second tie quilt. Here are the blocks I have finished...there are many more to make before I sew it all together.

Ties on the design wall. It is coming together!

Mr Wazoo worked outside after completing one small customer quilt. He had a dickens of a time with the wavy outer border, so I helped him with each quilt advance to baste it into submission. Ladies, you have to measure before sewing those borders on!!

Pretty little quilt with some border difficulties.

Panto: Yodel

Nice yellow backing

While I sewed the ties, Mr W weeded and moved some rocks around outside, making the yard tidy again. I am so fortunate to have a husband who enjoys yard work. Our property is always a pleasure to enjoy.

The wild blackberries all along the driveway are loaded with fruit.

Some are starting to ripen, but it is a battle to see who gets to them first; us or the deer and bears!

The hydrangea we planted last year has exploded in size and has loads of blooms starting to open.

Color has given way to lush greenery now that Summer is in full swing

I think it's time to get some chairs out by the fire pit and watch the stars (and the space station) go by while toasting some marshmallows!

My gardener, taking a break at the end of a busy day.

I bought him another pair of his favorite shoes in a new color.  That ought to show those pesky kids how exciting we are!! ha ha!

Molly is looking a bit like a sheep, so she will go for a 'fluff-and-buff' next week.

Not much happening

I haven't posted much this week, as I have been doing quite boring stuff. The stitch in the ditch on the Baltimore album quilt is progressing slowly...all that beautiful (and tiny) applique needs to be anchored with a close SID. It will be even more lovely when it is done. I have been cutting the pieces for the second tie quilt (this one for the daughter) and have finally finished that task.

Piles of tie parts ready for sewing

I'm hoping the quilt will be big enough for a lap size after sewing. Fingers crossed!

Mr Wazoo took an AC break and came indoors during the hottest part of the day to quilt a bit. He finished this quilt and now I have to make and apply the binding. I have been in a binding mode lately, finishing all three charity quilts I sewed at the retreat. I should be able to finish this one off today.

It has a fun twist on Log cabin for the blocks

Panto: Small Splat. The customer chose the turquoise thread.

I really like the olive fabric on the back. All the colors of the quilt are in it.

While I cut all those ties and added the three bindings, I used Millie to quilt this low volume king sized quilt. It is so big, each row took a half hour to do! Wow! Two days of quilting, and it's done.

Hard to distinguish the blocks, but beautiful nonetheless.

Panto: Paradise Feathers

More neutral backing.

My Dad called from Texas last night, and he is holed up in his house, surrounded by ten inches of flood waters! Seems they had a brutal storm with torrential rain, leaving the park under water. A kind neighbor has taken his dog, Millie, to higher ground a couple of times a day to relieve herself, and Dad is staying inside (it's 100 degrees there) and waiting it out. This year has sure been one for wild weather and storms. We have had some hum-dingers here, too, and my friends in Wisconsin have had floods and unseasonable cold. Climate change? Yup.

I'm off to the studio to multi-task another day. I have to get sewing on the ties, continue ditching the applique quilt, and load the next Millie project. There are a couple of customers coming with quilts, too, so I had better get changed from jammies into some presentable clothes!!

Home again, home again, jiggity jog

Retreat is over and I am unpacked and back in the studio. I made four tops there, and brought them home for quilting.

I showed Debbie the pattern ( my favorite 2-3-2-6) and she made a patriotic one. Mine is a goofy kid quilt with bugs.

Debbie is helping me hold theses to show you. A nice lady's quilt and a kid quilt with dogs on it.

I cut the bits for this oriental quilt before I went to the retreat. Unfortunately, I didn't cut enough! The fabrics were mostly purchased in Japan from my two trips, some from my daughter-in-law, and some from her mother.

Mr Wazoo quilted while I was away having fun, and finished this quilt for a happy customer.

Wow! I don't have enough purple scraps for something like this.

Panto: Quirky

Cranes fly across the purple backing.

I Quilted a large Tula Pink quilt for another customer. I changed thread with the colors changes on the quilt. It turned out nice. This is the second quilt like this for the same customer. The other one went to a granddaughter.

Hmmm...someone is photobombing my picture! What a ham.

Panto: Chevron

Blue waves and seashells on the back.

Here are the charity quilts, done and ready for binding.

This is even too bright for my tastes. I tried to match the bug colors, but that made it a bit too wild.

Panto: Modern twist

I had this starry fabric for the back in my stash.

I love the soft color combination in this one.

Panto: Small Splat

The backing as another stash find.

Here are some trendy dogs.

Panto: Stipple

Another stash find for the back.

While the Millie chugged through rows on the charity quilts, I sewed and added the last 29 blocks to the Japanese quilt.

The centers are bits of Japanese fabrics, and the sashing and borders are supposed to look like Indigoes. I didn't have many of those, so some of my big Batik stash was added to fill in. I thought it needed a pop of red, so I added the inner border as well as a piano key border, too.

I have to stare at it for a while to decide on how to quilt it...

Right now, I am so tired I can hardly think to type this. I am off to bed and a good night's sleep. It's good to be home!

Prep for retreat

After taking a couple of days off to rest and ice my back/shoulder, I am back in the studio and working up a storm. I'm glad the problem resolved without a visit to the doctor, but frustrated at how creaky I'm getting. Aging is not for the faint hearted!
My evening guild is having their annual retreat this week, so the prep for that has occupied my studio time. I like to have things already cut out so I can arrive there and sew, sew, sew! Yesterday, I cut out the 792 pieces for a quilt I have had wanted to make for a while now. It will use a tiny portion of my Japanese fabric stash.

It sure doesn't look like this will make a 54 x 66" quilt, does it?

Today's plan is to cut out the pieces for a Chicken quilt. I pulled the needed fabrics, and will begin the cutting after breakfast.

As you can see, it will be a colorful bird!

I did finish the men's ties quilt, and have it quilted and ready for the sleeve and binding. Hopefully, I'll get that done today, too.

The father, whose ties they are, wanted a wall hanging. This is 50 x 50, and I think it looks terrific.

I used the rounded squares panto because it looks manly.
The background fabrics came from the shop in  Dahlonega.

The ties are sewn down with a decorative feather stitch, using bronze colored Glide thread. It gives the project a bit of shine. The Dresden plate center circles are from one of the ties that is a solid black silk-satin fabric.

I found this plaid fabric in Cumming, and I think it is perfect for the back of this quilt.

That's the whole story of what I have been doing. Father's Day passed with phone calls and gifts from the kids and a hamburger cook out. Mr Wazoo spent the day outside (where else...) doing repairs on the cobblestone walk. It had settled on one side and had a crack open where the ground was lower.  It is back to 'like new' status, and he's on to some planting and weeding today. A happy man!

OUCH!!

I woke up suddenly at 4:30 in the morning with an extreme pain in the left side of my back up to my shoulder. I don't know what happened (I was asleep) but I knew it was bad. I paddled around the living room, took some Ibuprofen, put an ice pack on it, and dozed in my recliner until 7:00. The pain is still there, and is worse when I take a breath in, but I had to go to Hayesville and the 4-H class. The kids were just as wonderful as they were on Monday, and every one of them finished their backpacks. Huzzah!! Next week, they make pillow cases.

Ranging in age from fifth graders to high school sophomores, the group was engaged and happy to be there.Each one of the kids was proud of their accomplishment. We're proud of them, too!

A job well done!

Once at home, there was more Ibuprofen, more ice and a nap. I didn't sew at all.😕

Tomorrow I am off to Cumming to get the background fabric for the tie quilt. Hopefully, a day off will cure the kink in my back...

Dresden plate!

After I finished quilting this customer quilt, I worked in earnest on the men's ties memory quilt number one.This one will be a wall hanging for the man whose ties they are. He retired and wanted to have something to remind him of his working days. A second one will be for the daughter, and will be a quilt. I have to finish the first one before I think too hard about quilt number 2!

Here is the finished quilt I was working on.

Panto: Frolic

The backing was big enough the second time around!

These are the sewn tie pieces for the wall hanging. I haven't made the background yet. Believe it or not, this cutting and sewing took most of my day to do. 

Tomorrow I am off to Hayesville, NC for another day at quilt camp. I like the kids and really like helping them learn to sew. After camp, I'll be home working. I need to turn in now...6 AM comes quickly.

What is a normal day here?

Yesterday, I had what I would consider a pretty normal day for Wazoo. In the morning, I had a show meeting, followed by some errands, then home by lunchtime. Boring so far, right?
In the afternoon, I switched gears to the quilting mode, and had two quilts loaded by 1:00. One is a pantograph, so I started it on the Millie while pinning the other one, a beautiful Baltimore album custom job, onto the Gammill. After that, I began the cutting of the men's ties quilt, and made the first Dresden plate 'blades'. A couple of quilts were dropped off (along with chatting with the quilters), and one went home. By then, it was six o'clock and time to close up shop. Maybe this wasn't a full day, but you get the idea.
Any time in the studio with fabric and quilts is a wonderful time! I have a full day ahead, with Mr W off to South Carolina for his Mom visit. Hopefully, I will have something to show you that isn't so boring by the end of the day!

Millie is humming along on a scrappy quilt.

The custom job is loaded, and I hope to get some stitch in the ditch done around all the applique.

Gorgeous and well made.

The ties are ready, and the cutting started.

The first blades ready for pressing and sewing together.

My quilts came back from the Cobb County show. This is the ribbon I won. Isn't it pretty!?

Mr Wazoo got the bird bath/fountain set up and running. The plants are a natural filter and keep the water pristine for the birds without having to use any chemicals.