Busy week back at the machine

My Gammill was humming this week as I quickly returned to the business of show quilting. I can't show you one of them, but here are two that are going out of town on Saturday. I'll be taking a well deserved break today to go to the Fort Myers show with friends. More to come!

New friend in the studio

My friend in Wisconsin sent me a wonderful surprise today...a quilt buddy! My husband and I laughed out loud when I opened the box and took her out. See what you think. I'm going to call her Aunt Sewphie. (I have introduced her to Uncle Leo, but he doesn't seem interested...) Aunt Sewphie sits on my batting, keeping a watchful eye on things in the studio while she stitches on her quilt top. Thanks, Marcia!

WOO HOO!!! Back in business!

My Gammill man came Saturday and we replaced loads of parts as well as the motherboard on my machine. After some tweaking to make the stitch perfect, I was off and running. What a horrible week! All in the past now, and my finger is back to its normal color with just a line on it where the belt caught it.
I did a couple of test quilts before re-zipping the show quilt I had been working on when the machine quit. The quilting went smoothly and I am so happy, I have to show you a few pictures!
Back to full speed work tomorrow. Yippee!!

The long, long, long day

Oh my goodness!Tim and I now know way more about the guts of my Gammill than we ever cared to. I have had to take off and put on the back parts three times and replace the switches, too. I have cleaned every inch of it and adjusted the belt.Yet it still sounds awful and runs without turning on the switch!! I almost lost a finger when the machine suddenly started at breakneck speed while I was fussing with the belt. (Expletives deleted)I am so tired and frustrated, I told my dealer/mechanic I had to quit for now and start fresh tomorrow. He's trying to avoid a trip from Georgia and I am drowning in technology and mechanics. The motherboard comes tomorrow, and I may not need it in the end. I'm frazzed, but as you can see, Molly is chill as usual. Stay tuned!

OH NO!!!

I am not a happy camper today. My Gammill has been slowly acting weird for about a month and yesterday it balked completely. After a morning on the phone with Gerald (thank you), I found out the mother board is bad. Poop! I called my dealer and it would be several days before they could come, so I ordered the part (gasp!) and will attempt to install it myself. Meanwhile, all quilting has ground to a halt. I have some important show work to do, so I have my fingers crossed for a quick fix and a fast start once the part arrives. I hope you all are having a good start to 2012. Mine has been delayed. More later!

quilts I sent are all at their new homes!

One daughter got the Christmas quilt, one got her retro quilt, and the two little Beatles fans got their wild quilts. The house is clean and the cookies are all baked and boxed. Gifts are under the tree nd all is ready for Santa's visit. Merry Christmas to all my friends out there in blog-land, and a happy and quilty New Year!!

Grandma, What did you do today?

I started making the Christmas cookies! It may not look like much, but it was a day's work, for sure. More tomorrow! I love Christmas. Three days until the kids come.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

What did Grandma do today? Decorate the tree, get out the snowmen and Santas and make some cookies. Now, my feet are killing me and I dread making supper. Oh well, sacrificing comfort for the holiday festivities is not a bad chore...just a tiring one. Time for a toddy (or two)!

Finished with the Raffle quilt!

I finished the quilting of the guild raffle quilt, and now I have to get ready for another Christmas.Two of the kids can get away and come for the holiday, so it should be a festive occasion. I am now officially on vacation! Happy Christmas everyone!

Long day...tired feet!

All day on one border! Loads of marking and ruler work that will be difficult to see from more than two feet away. Oh well, it's done and now I only have one more border to go. It's the appliqued one, and I think it will be another long day tomorrow. I'm hoping to have my part done and hand off the quilt by the end of the week, then I'm on to another quilting adventure!! I love my job!