Patience is a virtue!

My day started happily with  a customer picking up her quilts. Penny got some love and attention, and I got paid! Work started with finishing a quilt from yesterday. I forgot to take pictures of the other QOV, so that will be here, too!

Remember this?

Here is the finished QOV! I was right about the wonky borders. I secretly added well placed 'faux seams' to take in about an inch on all four sides. When borders are properly sewn together, measured and cut to fit, they are sure to lay flat. If you aren't well versed in mitering joins and corners, don't do it. Straight joined seams and butted corners will be more forgiving when sewing them to your quilt. Measure through the center of the quilt, cut the border to fit this measurement, then pin it to the quilt easing any fullness while pinning. Sew the border on and admire your flat quilt.

Pineapple blocks are always pretty. I like the layout of red, blue and mixed blocks used in the quilt.

Panto: Simply Stars

Nice patriotic backing

This is the other quilt. I think it what the modern quilters call low volume. I never understood why they label things that way...volume is either how much space something takes up or the loudness of your music! Where it comes from, I don't know. I'd call it low contrast. Too many mediums, very little contrast in the fabric color values

Panto: Heart Fancy in taupe thread

The customer requested a heart panto. It goes nicely with the backing!

The fabrics are all tiny farm scenes. I like the fabrics a lot, really cute.

When I finished the quilt, and taken in a couple more, I loaded up the next project. Its a beautiful reproduction quilt featuring wonderful blocks made up of numerous tiny pieces. I'm always jealous of the people who make these types of quilts. I am still trying to be precise without much luck. I like bigger pieces and less fiddly blocks. I'll get the hang of it someday! But I digress...

I wanted a filagree type pattern for the quilting, so  I spent some time on the computer looking for just the one. I found it and downloaded all the formats, because they didn't have mine, but I knew others would work. As you know, the computer on the machine and I are not good friends. Every time I tried to select and open the pattern, it disappeared. I spent almost an hour patiently trying different formats of the pattern with the same result every time. I reviewed the directions for uploading and importing the patterns, tried again...poof! it was gone. Refusing to give up, I entered the incorrect format and didn't have the computer change it. It worked. I sure don't get it. Anyhoo, I started late and each pass took a long time to quilt, so I had the obligatory one row left to do.

After six and time for supper!!

I am making progress on the custom quilt. No pictures, but I finished the last of the light gray and will start on the red tomorrow. Meanwhile, I also took in another repair that needs to be done by the 25th. The quilt belongs to the customer's son and was made by his Grandma. He has had it his entire life and now, the dog had a fight with it and the quilt lost. I hope to start on it right away so I have it finished as a surprise for his birthday on the 25th. Its a big job, but I like a challenge, and a great story!

Penny needs to go out and I need to get to bed!

Oh my...

 

Wow! Two posts i9n one day!

 Penny and I had a good day together in the studio. She sang along with my classical music, and I quilted a Quilt of Valor. She has never been as vocal as she was today. Barking and doing some primo plaintive crying. I had to keep her in the playpen for a while, at least until the batting was advanced enough off the floor to not be an attraction to my little land shark.

Boy, does she need a haircut!

I loaded up a QOV around 11:00 and finished quilting it by 3:00. There was enough time to get a good start on the next one, too. Mr Wazoo joined us in the studio to compute my state sales tax for 2020. Penny stopped crying and beautiful music filled the air. Even Millie was happy today!! Quilting went without a single problem.

This is a really handsome quilt for the maker's uncle.

I hope she gets to award it to him!

Panto: Ribbon Stars in light gold thread

Nice patriotic backing, too.

I knew as soon as I loaded the next top that this quilt would be a bit of a challenge.

Look at the top border. Ripples and flared corners. I was correct, taking an inch out of the center of the border with a faux seam. It laid down in submission, but I know the bottom (if not the sides, too) would also be rippled.

I quit at 5:45 to make supper with about half the quilt left to do. 

Tomorrow I'll finish it up and hopefully quilt another one.

When she is clam, it is amazing how sweet she can look. 

Looks are deceiving! She's a pistol most of the time.

I guess Christmas is over...

Purging and revitalizing!

Hi everyone. I haven't been quilting for a few days, so no pictures of pretty quilts. I spent two days cleaning out the closets in our home and packing up big bags of clothes, shoes, coats and household items for the thrift shop. I found things I thought I had lost, and rediscovered tee shirts I had put away. 

After the closets, I set out to purge the office desk and computer cabinet of all the old documents there. Piles of birthday and Christmas cards from a number of years were tossed. Why would I keep people's old cards? I don't know...I guess it I thought it would be disrespectful somehow. Nuts to that! We had squirreled away manuals and receipts from appliances we no longer own, as well as electronics that are long obsolete and recycled. A box of cords for all sorts of mystery items. Not used or needed in years...gone. A waffle maker, rice cooker (I used it once...it ran over all over the counter), numerous used pots and pans; all things taking up space in our shortage of storage.

In the studio, I organized all the CDs I listen to while working. I must have 200 of them in all genres. They are now sorted and in storage cases for each genre. I listened to a bunch of them yesterday while I worked. My pantograph book is updated and all my pantos have their own page. I spent a couple of hours trying to get my Karen K Stone CD to load and transfer to my EQ7, but it doesn't work. Rats!! I really want to make one of the quilts and need the papers.

Today, I will be back in the studio, trying to get the mojo going again. I admit it...I'm stalled with the quilting. I think I will do a couple of QOVs and make the bits for the next repair. The pile of tees are staring at me and I need to get moving on all those tee shirt quilts. If any of you have been where I am, you'll understand how difficult it is to move forward when the task is so huge. I'd better get going!! 

Enjoy some beautiful photos my friend sent while I get to work.

The last day of a horrible year

 2020 will be over at midnight tonight, but the virus will rage on and Trump will still be desperately trying to destroy the nation. 2021 looks to be another tough year. I am grateful Mr Wazoo and I have managed to dodge Covid so far, while people all over are falling to the illness without abatement. The news says a person dies every 10 minutes in California, and the virus has mutated into a more virulent strain that is more easily transmitted. We will stay home and wear our masks whenever anyone is close to us. We have let our guard relax around friends, but will be more vigilant in the future.

I spent a couple of sewing days in the studio, trying to revive my mojo for quilting. I think all quilters must be feeling the slump, because we have been isolated from each other and unable to compare and brainstorm our ideas for new projects. I forced myself to plunge in and see where it takes me.

I drafted out a block on EQ and chose a jelly roll for the wider strips. Some of the blocks will be black and white, because I  didn't have enough strips of color for the whole quilt.

I made a bunch of blocks and put them on the design wall. I have already moved them around twice since taking this picture. I have an idea where I am going with the design, but am still mulling over what will go in the blank spaces.

Meanwhile, customer quilting goes on, and I am slowly catching up with their quilts.

The table cloth is done.

This one has a particularly beautiful backing. 

The same panto as the others; Bush Berries

This attractive split nine patch has been on the rack since November 16th! The quilter is excited too come pick it up next week.

She requested a pattern with hearts and flowers, so I chose Frolic, using the blue-green thread

It shows nicely on her backing.

This was a kit the quilter had for 10 years before sewing it together. The fabrics are pretty, but a bit busy next to each other. 

The pattern of quilting gets lost in the florals.

I used the panto, Espallier with green thread. It is a handsome quilt.

Penny woke us up at 4:30 and I couldn't get back to sleep, so I got up and now, I'm dragging! I am NOT a morning person! There may be a nap later today, or I won't make it to midnight for the New Year's ball drop.

I wish everyone a happy and safe New Year, with brighter and happier days ahead. We've made it this far...let's hang on and carry on.

Quilting my way into the new year

 Over Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas, I quilted a huge rush quilt for a customer whose family would be visiting for a short time. The pattern took 30 minutes a row to quilt, and the quilt had ten rows. To make a greater challenge, the batting was one inch wider than the quilt on both sides. It took a long time to do, but its done.

I had it loaded on Christmas Eve. You can see how little leeway I had for the quilt sides.

The day after Christmas I worked a half day and got the quilt almost to the end by 6:00.

Finished today! It has all sorts of Holiday themed fabrics, many fussy cut.

Panto: Let it snow using gold Glide thread

The gold thread looks wonderful on the back.

The customer also had a smaller Christmas quilt, so I quilted it today so she would only have to make one trip to pick them up.

This quilt had ample backing and batting, so it was a piece of cake to quilt.

Panto: Lorien's Trees in Green thread front and back.

The next quilt is loaded and ready for tomorrow. It is another of the many table cloths I am doing for the same customer. I think I have done four so far, and there are eleven altogether.

A few most snow pictures since I think the white stuff will be gone by tomorrow night. It has been melting slowly all day.

Penny has had more fun plowing around and getting covered in the stuff.

Much of the snow has fallen off the trees, but the curbside view of the house is still pretty!

My sister sent me this sparkly bear. It looks very cute on my shelf of honor, right in front of Molly's ashes.

Penny got her last puppy shots today! I gave her a bath and a thorough brushing before we took her to the Vet. She looked like a toy bear! Her grooming appointment isn't until the 28th of January! She will surely need a heavy shearing by then.

Speaking of bears...

Another good reason to have your hot tub  indoors!