Two finishes. Lots of sewing!!

It may look like these are the same pictures from yesterday, but they're not. The first two tee shirt quilts are finished and the third one is almost a full flimsy. I ran out of time with two borders to go. Tomorrow is another day!!

Number one

Panto:rounded squares

The binding is the same as the backing.

Number two

Same panto

Same back and binding...

Number three without top and bottom borders.

Six piles of shirts ready to be trimmed and made into quilts.

Tomorrow's quilting will be another mammoth project. I'll be sewing while Millie does the heavy lifting!

I finished The Sewing Machine, and the ending was a wonderful surprise. I recommend it for a feel good read.

Rain, rain go away!

 It was cold and rainy today. Mr Wazoo gets antsy when he can't play outside, so I am always wondering what mischief he is getting into while I'm working. It turns out he was trying to make a gate on the deck to keep Penny from running off while he is grilling. Molly used to love to go out  and watch the squirrels while he cooked. Penny, not so much. She is scared of being on the deck. I hope she gets over that before Summer!

In the studio, I worked on a super-king sized quilt while assembling the second tee shirt quilt. I listened to the impeachment trial and found the manager's presentation compelling. I hope ...no, I wish, someone would hold T***p accountable for his actions. The lack of courage and honor in the Republican senators is sickening. Where in the world would jurors in a proceeding like this be allowed to have their feet up on the furniture, read books and even get up and leave the room while the case is being presented? It makes me so sad and frustrated to see where we have gone during the last administration. Okay, I'm done. Back to quilts.

This is one of the tee shirt quilts. I made the checked stripes to enlarge the strip logos on the second row of blocks. It looks nice!

This one is less interesting, but still nice! Only seven more to go!

This quilt is huge!! 101 x 104"

I didn't have time to trim it, but will do that in the morning.

To echo the wheels a bit, I chose Flower Child panto

The back is a lovely floral.

I finished binging another season of Great British Bake Off and will try to go to bed early. Every night I've been reading a book called The Sewing Machine. It is a clever weaving of the lives of several people over decades who all had experiences with the same hand cranked sewing machine. It is a lot like the TV program This Is Us, in that the chapters bounce around in dates in time and main character. I'm finally seeing the thread that binds them all together, so I must be getting close to the end. It's different, but spellbinding and hard to put down. I'll let you know how I feel about it after I finish reading!

Tee shirt quilt assembly line

 Finally! I finished pressing the fusible to all 108 tee shirt quilt blocks. I divided them up into quilt piles, 12 in each, and started in sewing.

Each block has to be cut to size after being fused, and the ones from tank tops need some extra sewing. The quilts will all have a block with the small bits included, too.

Here is the body of the first one. The borders will go on tomorrow and I'll be on to number two!

Deja vu again. Here is another table cloth from the customer who is making nine of them. It was eight, but she decided to make herself one, too! This is hers.

The tops all look pretty much the same.

Same panto: Bush berries

She chose this special fabric for her backing. It's quite lovely.

I got out the vintage blocks I won last year from the Texas show again, and I think I will finally make them into a little quilt. I really need to get my quilt inspiration back. I am in a rut!

Back to normal...?

 My presentation went off fine and I have everything put away and the studio looking normal again. If you missed it, it will be on the www.rgvquiltshow.org site until the weekend. Today, I looked at all the quilts and voted for my favorites. Yesterday, I watched the other presentations and the auction. I think tomorrow I will look at the vendors. I miss quilt shows!

Quilting has also progressed and the QOVs are all done but one. I accidentally used the wrong bobbin case when I switched from pre-wound bobbins to metal bobbins. The pre-wounds don't have a spring in the bottom to prevent backlash. I used that case with my brass bobbins and the resulting stitching had very little tension on the bottom. The quilting all needs to come out. I'll be doing that at my leisure (cough cough) because I am not being paid for this. Customer stuff has to come first. Here are the finished ones.

Number one was really scrappy!

I used the panto Starstruck on all the quilts.

This one is still scrappy but more controlled.

I don't like this fabric. The pattern is pretty,  but it is really stiff!!

Another controlled scrappy quilt. Same panto and same thread, an off white Perma Core.

Stars are always good on quilts of valor.

I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the favorite QOV of all! It was all made of homespun plaids, and looked manly and pretty.

I just happen to have the maker's picture of the quilt, because I do the guild newsletter and she had it in Show and Tell!

I worked the tee shirts again today and have all 108 blocks backed with the stabilizer! There should be 9 quilts with 12 blocks each. Let's hope I can get them all around the same size...

I also started making the pieces for the next repair. (It is the one that starred in my demo of doing repair.)

Back to true normality tomorrow! Quilting fun and lots of Penny kisses!!

Fun in the studio...practice form presentation

Start the day with the sky on fire! The sunrise on Thursday was stunning. It looked like there was a huge fire in the distance. Beautiful!

I ran outside in my pajamas to get a picture before it went away!

Get ready for many photos of the custom quilt finish. The quilt gave me some jitters because I am not a fan of samplers and struggle to figure out some kind of quilting scheme to tie the disparate blocks together.

It is a king size quilt for the customer's bed

The remaining blocks are hiding behind the back roller!

Most blocks have either geometric patterns, or soft feathers. I hope they even out the look!

My favorite block is the customer's schnauzer. The background fill is things a dog says.

Geometry block. There are a lot of paper pieced blocks similar to this. All perfectly done and with tiny, precise bits.

Who doesn't like a house block? I want to make a whole quilt of house blocks.

Fussy cut squares inspired the flower and leaf quilting

This is the logo of the Appalachian Trail.

A peek at the border quilting. Black quilting on black fabric...makes my eyes go goofy!

These pinwheels are softened by the feathering

Lovely Celtic knot

Geometric card trick block

I forgot to take a picture of the back (a white on white print)

Maybe because I subconciously hate  dark thread on light fabric.

I was so happy to have this quilt off the machine. I took a break for a day before thinking of loading the next custom project.

I was busy with pantographs, too, and here they are!

It is still Christmas at Wazoo! I love the panel. It is so happy.

Panto: Let it snow with Pearl Glide thread

Cheerful back, as well.

These are the cutest, bubbling whales! A small, cuddly soft baby quilt.

Panto: Ebb and Flow with light seafood green thread.

The back is plush Minkie fabric 

* Tip: don't cut Minkie with a rotary cutter. Use scissors to prevent the messy fluff getting all over your cutting table and stuck in the self-mending slits made in the mat.

This customer makes pretty and simply patterned quilts. They are always flat and nicely sewn. I love her!!

Panto: Swan's Journey in dusty rose thread

Muslin backing is usually not my choice, but here, it shows off the quilting pattern.

The 9 tee shirt quilts are in progress. I have sorted and stabilized the first batch. 

I had to pause this to practice my Zoom presentation for next Tuesday.

Sunset pink and pretty behind the house and over the mountain top. It turned bitterly cold with howling winds as the evening progressed, with a heavy snow falling (or blowing) all around. I'm dreading the last trot with Penny. I'm sure she won't want to go either...

Go to www.rgvquiltshow.org to see all about the virtual show I will be a part of. Click 'schedule' for my photo and bio. There will be a link to the presentation during the show days. I'm scared silly and excited at the same time!!