Working hard and having fun

 I had a few finishes this week and it feels good! First up is a vintage quilt from the customer's great aunt. She had the top and needed it finished for her sister. It only needed one block to be repaired, which I did after I got it quilted.

The quilt was fairly square, but I did take in the borders at a couple of spots to get them straight. I gave the whole top a good starch and press then went to work. I used my go-to pattern for this age of quilt, Rounded Squares. It adds texture, holds everything together and doesn't take away from the fabric selection in the blocks. 

I had this fabric for the backing in my stash, and it is identical to a fabric in the quilt. The double pink sashing is also from my stash to compliment the cornerstones.

Next up, the queen lone star vintage top. I did some sewing to get the setting squares and triangles to fit, and did the starch and press routine again.

Some of the points at the edges were nipped when trimmed and bound, but it couldn't be helped as they extended to the edge of the quilt. For the number of diamonds hand stitched together, this top was square and pretty flat. 

Baptist fan quilting

White backing shows all the wobbles...it still looks really nice. I did the binding in the blue seen in the photos, and still have a label to add to finish the job!

I also quilted two QOVs from the same maker. They both feature a giant star with triangles on two sides forming a border.

Loads of different patriotic fabrics give the quilt sparkle

Simply Stars panto in gold thread

I had enough of the backing left to sew up the binding for the quilt.

Number two is the same pattern with fabrics in different positions.

Same panto and thread

Great allover flags for the backing.

I started working on a quilt I saw in Texas at my sister's guild show. The vendor for the pattern book was an Aussie lady who traveled all over Australia in a caravan (RV) with her husband for a year. She made one block a day during the trip and finished it exactly a year later. It has 365 four inch blocks! So far, I have made 9. I'll be at this for quite a while, I think!

This is the center of the quilt. It is 12" square. I have to do the embellishment stitching on the blocks. The next round has 16 blocks!

I got to thinking about all my quilts while pulling some out for a trunk show next week and thought you might enjoy seeing where they are in my house. Lots of pictures and a messy house!

Two quilts on our bed. Its been cold!

Quilt on a trunk

Quilt on the bedroom wall

Quilt on the dining area wall

Five quilts on a ladder in the living room.

I change these out periodically.

Quilt in the peak of the living room. Mr Wazoo says it is never coming down.

Three snuggle quilts on the sofa. I use one most nights while watching TV.

Four quilts in decorative baskets by the couch. A pretty girl photobombing the shot.

Two quilts on the guest bed.

Three quilts on the small stand, and five on the ladder.

Tw quilts in a basket in the guest room.

A small quilt on my Singer 401.😉 Guest room.

I change the bigger quilt monthly. The Kaffe stripes one stays there.

Both in the studio.

Guild challenge and Rat Race quilts on the studio wall

Not a quilt, but a Barn quilt from Mr W for Christmas!

We like Bigfoot...

Another guild challenge and a shop challenge quilt in the studio.

One of my miniatures and a guild challenge quilt in the studio bathroom!

A gift from a man who lived next door in Wisconsin. I made him a quilt while he was dealing with cancer treatments, and he hand stitched this block for me as a thank you. I cherish this because he has since passed away.

Fish quilts made in two different classes in Florida live in the studio bathroom, too.

We recently re-folded the quilts on this shelf unit. There are 78 here, and sixteen more in my duffles, ready for my program in Dawsonville. Figuring in the sixty quilts I gave away last year...that's a pile of quilts. If we ever had a fire, I would probably try to save some quilts. It would be a devastating loss to have them burn up. Or my stash!!! Yikes! I would have a nervous breakdown if I lost it all. I think I need to give away a bunch more to assure my legacy.

Finished!

I finished the tee shirt quilt and got it quilted late yesterday evening. Today, the binding will be stitched  and it will be ready to send back to the customer in Florida. I like making tee shirt quilts. They exercise my thinking process. Every one is a puzzle to figure out.

In progress. The paper diagram I made is off to the left side of the design wall. I made some changes, but they were for the better!

All done! Mossy green background for the customer. Lots of Gunsmoke blocks cut from a pair of pajama pants! FYI: My dad went to college with James Arness. Beloit College in Wisconsin. How about that?!

I can never remember the name of this quilting pattern, but I really like it for texture.

Green backing, as well.

Time to go to work, energized and ready. Mr Wazoo took Penny from the bedroom with him when he got up, so I had a full eight hours of sleep! That never happens. I feel great!!

 

Brrrrr!! February is here!

A lot has happened since I last posted here. It took Mr Wazoo and me a full week of sorting, folding and storing all my fabric on the newly beefed up shelves. Here is a day by day run down of the progress.

Here is where we left you...wondering if we were crazy to do this. 

Mr W added wood slats and bigger pegs to hold the weight of the fabric.

We piled the rolled fabric on a table behind Big Gammill and I folded it on the cutting table.

Making progress. My backing stash takes up the lowest shelf on the right. The next bottom shelf over is my collection of whites for repairs. I use everything from bright white down to a tan color. It's great to have a stash to match to the quilt.

We finally made it over to the color category shelves.

Finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! Table is still loaded.

The table piles are smaller, but only because we stashed fabric in boxes for ease in transport to the cutting table.

Hard at work folding my civil war reproduction fabrics.

Shabby chic fabric came next

I had two boxes of red fabric! I do like red...

The last shelves were the hardest. We were exhausted. But just look at all that lime green! My favorite color.  I have a drawer full, too.

Ta-da!! All done. Give me a week and we'll see how it goes.

When I was sorting and folding, I found this panel I got at Quilt 'N Caboodle at their big sale. I cut it up, added some sashing from the stash and made a nice quilt. It will be a donation for Family Connection.

I really like the faces on these farm residents.

The quilting is a simple meander with yellow thread.

I had a good amount of this 30s fabric for the back. I added yellow binding the next day and got it done!

A big milestone was reached this week, too. I turned 70 last Friday and the family did well with gifts. Mr W got me an Apple Watch! He said it was to call someone when I fall down. How romantic. ha ha. From the kids I got a pair of 'gift socks', a carved wooden bowl shaped like a pig, and two plates with goofy farm animals on them. The flowers came the day after my birthday, making it last even longer. The man took me out to a snazzy Italian restaurant, and we had cake and ice cream when we got home. I think 70 came in without too much anxiety. I'm ready for whatever comes next.

When I tap the watch face, Minnie Mouse speaks the time. She taps her foot to the seconds!

Mr Wazoo did my card with 70 all over it. My son has my sense of humor with the socks.

Pig with M&Ms

We had some cake and ice cream on our new plates.

Penny entertained herself with the bubble wrap. Pop pop pop...

Nice!!

The cherry on top was the flower delivery! So pretty.

Yesterday, I started working on a customer tee shirt quilt. She only wants it to be a throw size, so I have had to do some creative cutting and placement. She wanted "mossy green" for the background, so I am doing just that! I am making progress after the tedious fusing and cutting stages.

We'll see how it goes tomorrow. I would like to get it done and sent back to Tallahassee this week.

This was the moon rise last night after work. It looks kind of weenie here, but the moon was big and golden color. I don't know how to take a proper photo of it with my phone. You'll have to trust me...it was beautiful. It's time to put my feet up and zone to the TV.