Work is fun!

I may only work five hours day, but I am getting quilts done, and that makes me happy! I first finished this lovely Kaffe Fassett quilt. The colors are luscious and blendy. Yum!

The HSTs are strip  pieced, and each one has three different fabrics.

The pattern is called Adore

The Grunge fabric on the back adds to the deep colors of the top.

It was my birthday on Thursday, and Mr Wazoo and I had a wonderful steak dinner, followed by cake and ice cream. I had an all around good day, hearing from all my children and my Dad, sister and big brother. 

Mr W found this little cake at the bakery .

I have to show you the card from Daughter in Portland. She ordered it on line and wasn't aware it was a Mother's Day card. The little sign in the pop up flowers says Mother's Day, but her message is happy birthday. I told her she has both events covered!

Next, I worked on a little baby quilt (the customer's first quilt) and a charity quilt of mine.

Not too bad for a first attempt. There were a few puckers and tucks in the seams, bit the quilt is soft and nice for a little baby. Good job!

The panto is Bubbles

Another Grunge backing. I did the binding and label tonight while watching another episode of Vera.

For my wild UFO charity quilt, I added a scrap binding finish. 

A simple meander was appropriate for the quilting.

I had this great Jacks fabric in my stash from Cotton and Steel, and decided to use it on the back.

The next customer quilt was a boxed square pattern in reproduction fabrics. The choice of colors was very pleasing. It may have been a jelly roll.

You can find this pattern free on www.maryquilts.com

The panto is Scrolled Feathers

Click on the picture to see it closer.

While Chewy was quilting , I sewed this charity 2-3-2-6 top. It ia all flannel and very soft

Doge in outer space. Too cute! I'll get it finished tomorrow.

Grandson's latest escapade was a jaunt out on the ice of Lake Mendota for a kite flying event. These three cat kites are...(are you ready?)...The cat's meow!! Yellow cat looks to be giving grandson a pat on the head.

Here is a regal looking couple of disheveled beings. Shaggy Penny is beginning to look like a brown bear! Mr W on his throne (the power recliner) with his morning coffee. My two favorite housemates, although Penny needs a bath. P-U!!

 

It's a slow recovery, but I'll get there

 Another week down the drain, making some progress on the quilting as well as the back pain. I promised I would post the pictures of the finished repair quilt, so here it is.

All done! Washed and ready to go home.

I used a Baptist fan pantograph.

The backing is a light tan muslin

I started in on the block of the month (especially since I am now supposed to be doing month two!) and got the berries machine sewn. I am working on the rest of the block while relaxing, doing hand appliqué on that.

It took forever to do those tiny berries.

Meanwhile, up in there frozen tundra, my grandson and his dad made a Totoro snowman. The kid is obsessed with the anime, My Friend Totoro, so they went nuts building him in the good packing snow.

I sure miss seeing them and also wish I could join in the snowman fun!

Cool!

I went to my first PT this week, and will be there twice a week for the next 6 weeks. I have exercises to do to strengthen my core and legs to make getting up and down and going about my daily chores with more support to my back. Next week, I go back to Gainsville for a  deep nerve block in my back. Oh joy...

The pain is still raging, but I am back to work and quilting. I am doing it slower, but getting something done.

This is the first of many customer quilts I have on the rack to be done. I love a bright quilt, so this was a joy to work on.

Pantograph: Arabesque

The backing is also cheerful and bright.

Well, I have to turn in. My magic bed is calling my tired back to come and get comfy. Before I do, I have to warn you about the new `Covid variant, Catrona. It is sneaky and extremely contagious. Please be careful, and I'll see you on the flip side!

The Catrona virus

Wow! What a time we've had.

Well, I'm back from Texas and we stayed for longer than we thought we would! I'm sorry for the radio silence, but we were too busy and tired to do anything but work and sleep.

My 99 year old dad is now safe in an assisted living apartment in the city he loves. My sister and I had to go through all his stuff (yikes!!) and move it to his new digs. We left him a few days later, happy and unpacking some boxes, ready for the next adventure in his life. Needless to say, My back took a beating and after the two day ride home, I am more than ready for some serious physical therapy. I'l be calling there tomorrow.

When I thought it was going to be a three day visit, I worked hard on the antique top repair I prepped before leaving. It is fixed and has to be quilted and finished before being  given back to the customer to use as a real quilt, instead of a top languishing in a box. Makes me happy! I'll get a picture tomorrow.

Penny was a perfect little lady on the trip, playing peek-a-boo and tag with my sister's little dog, Chloe. They were a fun distraction from all the packing and cleaning.

Chloe would peek out to taunt Penny, then they would run all over chasing and growling.

She thought Mr Wazoo would hide her, but that didn't work.

After a big run and chase, both were ready to lay down and rest.

Penny liked looking out the window at Chloe's house, watching the people and dogs walk by.

The masks I made have all reached their new owners, and I got a few pictures of them in use. My Portland daughter wants a couple more, so I will be making some to send around the country again.

Grandson sent me a picture in his Marvel mask, so I sent him a picture of Grandma in her doggie mask!

Oh Grandma!!

Arizona daughter sent her picture, too!

After a hard week of pack and move, we were all ready for a good night's sleep. Mr W beat us to it when he took a brief snooze at Dad's house. We were so busy, I forgot to take some pics at his new digs. Hey, I'd live there... He has a kitchen, living/dining combination room, large bedroom with room for his desk and computer and a giant bathroom with a huge walk in shower! They make his bed every day, clean the apartment and take out the trash once a week, provide three hot meals a day, provide a big flat screen TV with 100 cable channels in his living room, daily finger stick and med handling, as well as numerous activities and outings to local stores and events. Like being on a perpetual cruise! With high speed internet, all those programs to choose from on TV, and his own furniture, it is like the old home only tidier. All of us will call frequently and the quarterly visits from us Georgians will  continue. I'm comfortable with the decision.

Mr W dropped off during a lull in the moving, but was soon back at it.

Penny rode like a champ in her quilty nest in the back seat. 

Late today as the sun was setting, the Georgia mountains came into view and I was washed in peace, ready to be home again. I am beat and the back pain needs attention. Tomorrow I will be calling the therapist and the doctor, and returning 23 customer calls. 

Tonight, I'll be snug in my own bed.

Countdown to Texas

Only one day left to get everything ready for the trip tp Texas. All the laundry is done and the bed has fresh linens. I spent yesterday tidying up the studio and organizing things so I can work comfortably when I get home. I just started back to quilting this week, and have already taken in 8 quilts! I don't think I missed a step with my customers. They're the best!

Mr Wazoo surprised me with two more drawer units from Wally World! I took out the horrible wooden shelf and swept up dust bunnies as big as my fist from under the cutting table. We attempted to move it to clean further underneath, but it wouldn't budge. The drawers on both ends are chock-a-block full of fabric and, we all know, it weighs a ton.

The other unit will live in the back of the table and holds kits I have assembled as well as some vintage linens. My scrap catching bag is on the left side, and my bag of bags on the right.

This is as clean as the table will get for now. Most of the stuff has been put away or went to the scrap bag for a lucky person in the evening guild. My BOM fabrics are still out because I have to cut a piece of each for the dogtooth border  in  month one's instructions.

A few days ago, Penny amused herself by chewing through the power cord on my new Forte!! Needless to say, I was not amused. My dealer has ordered a new cord, and Mr W helped me form a blockade around the machine to keep her from being able to get behind it and chew a cord. Penny is a big chicken when it comes to any type of obstacle  in her path, as well as going from carpet to bare floor. She doesn't go in shady spots or down the basement stairs. She is a real scaredy cat! With the three rolling drawer units and some plastic bins, we have stopped her from coming back here.

I prepped the first repair of 2022 by marking all the pieces I need to replace, and then set about making the pieces. Today, I safety pinned them all in place and put the top in an old zippered package from a set of sheets. I hope to get much of it done while we're away.

It's a pretty log cabin top, made by the great Aunt of the customer. Two tops were unearthed from the attic, in a box, where they have languished for years. One was in good shape and is off being quilted by one of my longarm friends. She recommended me for repairing and finishing this one.

This particular fabric is worn clear through. It is a thin silk that didn't do well in storage.

Here it is again, looking even more moth eaten.

There were also many patches of this green fabric. they have lost a lot of their color, as well as having holes in them.

This floral was only in one spot on the quilt, so I only have to replace the two logs you see here. Altogether, there are about 50 logs to replace.

Thankfully, my giant stash saved me again, and I found fabrics for all the logs that are disintegrating with time. You will surely see the progress as I go along, as well as the finished quilt. Stay tuned for that!

While rooting around in boxes and bags that have been buried under the cutting table, I found a bag with a half finished class project from about twenty years ago. I took a class to learn stack and slash, and improv piecing. I hated the process as well as the things I made in the class. I did make a small wall quilt from some of the blocks for my grandson's nursery, but these blocks stayed in the bag. There were only 9 blocks and the weird rows of improv black and white bits. I kept adding fabric until I figured it was big enough to be a child's quilt, about 40x52". I'll quilt it and give it away. Unless the quilt provokes a seizure, it should be a nice cuddly blanket for little tyke.

I made this from the useable blocks. It hangs in my grandson's room.

Here it is! Bright and cheerful, with an assortment of novelty fabrics.

I alternated the pieced blocks with squares of fabrics from my stash.

I love this fabric! Happy cats. Of course I added monkeys and strange looking dogs to cheer it up even more.

All that cheerfulness is in sharp contrast to what was happening outside when I quit for the day.

Spooky pinkish-gray sky and a steady rain falling from the low hanging, thunder rumbling clouds. Penny beat feet to the back door and didn't stop to water the grass on the way!

I hope tomorrow is a nicer day.

.

 

A little road trip and some tweaking

 Yesterday I decided to change the things I had a problem with on block #1 of the BOM. The yellow flower and bud changed to pink, and there is a proper stem for that flower. I added one more berry to the right side flowers, too.

I'm happier with this. I think it can now be sewn .

I took a speed trip to Dahlonega to pick up glue stick refills and some fabrics for the BOM that I really wanted. My stash is huge, and I have loads of possibilities, but I decided to make all the vessels for the blocks blue. I needed interesting fabrics with bigger patterns. (any excuse to add fabrics to the stash, right?)

Here are the fabrics I selected for the vessels. They may change as I go along, but I really like what I picked so far.

I also got a few more leaf and stem fabrics, some interesting backgrounds, and a few other flower colors.

These are the fabrics I used in block #1. I need to cut some squares from them for the future dogtooth border.

Here is the view outside at 7:30 this morning. It looks like something from a horror movie!

Later today, it is supposed to rain, sleet and snow. 

I'll be inside sewing!

TA DA!!

Everything is glued down and now, the hand stitching and machine appliqué starts!

The only thing I'm not sure about is the yellow flower on the left side of the picture. I changed the berries on the right to yellow-orange ones, looking for balance . I also added the yellow bud to the top of the branch the yellow flower sticks out of. I also don't like the way the stem of that flower just disappears behind a leaf. I may change that, too. I added a short stem to the flower on the vase that was just hovering there.I guess that's all the changes...we'll see.

The extension next to my sewing area is piled with the fabrics  used in the block. I need to cut pieces from them before putting them all away for the dogtooth borders. What a mess I've made!!

I took in two repair quilts yesterday and need to attend to them today. Something to work on tonight! After I fix them, I'll start on the BOM appliqué. I see a lot of fun ahead!

 

BOM underway

 Wow! This block of the month is more difficult than I first imagined. Some of the pieces of appliqué are teensy. I originally cut circles for the little berries, intending to use Karen K Buckley's Perfect Circles and starch to form them. No dice! I switched to my travel iron to get better control over the gathered and starched bits, but it was nearly impossible to hold them down with a pencil eraser and pull up the thread to gather the edges. I made three berries in an hour. There are 40 of them on block one!! No way. I re-grouped and made fusible berries instead. These, and the 1/8 inch stems (that's another fiddly bit), will be sewn down by machine.

Here are the first bits of appliqué. The dark pink circles are the berries. I did the running stitch on all of them while watching TV.

I have the background chosen and prepped for the first block, and was just getting started on motif placement in this picture.

Of course, the studio is a giant mess, with the pulled fabrics all over the place. These are stem fabrics, being cut and put through the bias maker.

In the end, there will be 300 inches of stem on this quilt!

Over at the sewing area, I have a small ironing station set up for the prep of the appliqué bits.

I didn't take a picture of how much I got done, but will do that today when I get home from the longarm group meeting. I'm showing some free motion patterns to the group to hopefully get them excited to play on their machines, and not just do computer guided stuff.

Thankfully, the ice and snow is mostly gone today, and I don't fear the trip to town. It was certainly beautiful, though!

At 7:30 yesterday morning, this was the scene.

One last look at the Christmas tree, while it really looks like Christmas. Mr Wazoo spent the day disassembling it and putting everything away. Christmas is over.

Later in the day, the sun came out and gradually melted the snow away.

I made a big pot of potato-corn chowder, and Mr W enjoyed his bowl of steaming goodness for lunch. 

Sometimes staying inside is a wonderful thing!