Daughter visit and nasty weather

I haven't posted for a while because it has been a whirlwind of activity here at Wazoo. My daughter is back from her 6 month journey to the southern hemisphere, and we are so happy to have her here! We have been catching up, watching movies and seeing the Georgia sights as the weather permits. Before she arrived, she was in Texas visiting my Dad and my sister. One more visit to Wisconsin in May, and she will have seen everyone in the family!

This is my Dad and my lovely daughter

Mr W and I just came home from our visit to my sister and brother-in-law, but forgot to take a picture! I'm glad Carolyn got one.

This is Carolyn's cat, Maxine. 
At least, the bump under the quilt is Maxine...

She has rarely come out to visit since she got here. Molly
is intrigued, because she has never seen a cat!

Molly thinks Maxine is in the kitchen...
if you look, you'll spot her walking in front of the TV cabinet across the room.
Silly dog...

We went to Meeks park here in Blairsville on the only bright sunny day we have had all week.

80 degrees and beautiful. How quickly that changed!

Daughter and Mom selfie

The day after Meeks Park, the horrible weather began with high wind,bouts of torrential rain, a lighting show and rolling thunder. One giant boom! and the power went off for three hours and the phone went dead for two days. Quite a storm!!
Today, we ventured out to a local tourist spot called Mercier's, where they have acres of fruit trees and farm land with a huge retail outlet for their goods. They have all sorts of gourmet treats and local wines and their own brand of hard cider. We settled on some yummy popcorn snacks and a chocolate-pecan pie for after supper. Carolyn tried on a deer hat at Mercier's, but I thought it would be too dangerous to wear here in the mountains where our neighbors are forever shooting their guns off. She's a dear...not a deer!

We'll be sorry to see her go tomorrow, but I really need to pick up the pace in the studio! Mr Wazoo has been keeping the quilts going while Carolyn and I had fun. I think he may be headed for another stint as Employee of the Month!

Long days working

The last few days have been a bit boring for anyone reading this blog. All we do is work. Mr Wazoo took one day off to play in the yard, but I have been in the studio quilting eight or more hours a day, trying to get my back-log to a manageable amount, The quilt I am working on now os another huge custom job that took two full days to stitch in the ditch. About halfway through, I sewed in a long tuck on the backing and had to back up the train, take out a row of quilting, and then re-do the work. See...boring. Yesterday, I finally started the pretty quilting, but even that is pretty mind numbing. The same motif over and over and over...like I said, huge quilt. The saving grace is, the quilt is really pretty, and the fabrics fun to look at.

SID, white stars and tan side triangles done so far.

We had a couple of loud rain storms lately, and I didn't stop the man from mowing and cleaning up the yard. Spring is here, and the grass was getting thick and unruly. He also added the new layer of mulch to the gardens and gravel to the side of the driveway for drainage. Most of the garden plants are self sustaining and don't require much attention, but the lawn is another story. He is constantly trying to get grass to grow in the hard, red clay. Gives him a challenge!

Flowers and shrubs starting to fill in the rock gardens.

Gray gravel along the drive. Looks good!

He did the patch in the back, too, next to the compost staging area.

I have to say that MrW also did his studio work. He has been quilting most days, getting his indoor projects done, too. Its a bit disheartening to have him churning out quilt after quilt while I slog along for days on the same project! Oh well, that's life here at Wazoo. Not much conversation, just the steady hum of the machines.

Cute wallhanging for a grandchild's room

Panto: Star Spangled Banner

Sophisticated baby quilt made with forest friends fabrics.

Panto: Modern Twist

This is a modern art quilt, meant to represent a window.

The customer requested randomly spaced horizontal lines.
I think Mr W did a great job with this custom quilting task.

He loaded this at the end of the day, ready to quilt when we start again.

I am still trying to finish the tee shirt quilt for the Christian school. The customer called and requested a sleeve be attached, so I have been sewing the binding, making a fancier than usual label and making the hanging sleeve. I plan to get this one done today, and ready for the hand sewing tonight.

I made the label on the computer yesterday after work, and will get it sewn into the binding along with the sleeve today.

I hope this entry hasn't made you too drowsy...it would be nice to spend some time on the porch watching the baby squirrels scamper up and down the tree, or the birds visiting the feeders, but the quilting comes first and we have to keep at it to make the customers happy. Don't get me wrong, I love the quilting, but the siren song of sunny warm weather and the awakening of the flora and fauna is strong. We want to go out and play!
Our daughter comes tomorrow, so there will be another dreaded task happening...cleaning. Have mercy! Until later...

Busy day

The phone rang and rang today. Customers are bringing and sending quilts faster than we can quilt them! Mr Wazoo had already told me he would be doing yardwork today, because the weather was absolutely perfect. It figures...I was stuck indoors, quilting and repairing quilts. He did get one done yesterday while I was at guild, so I won't begrudge him a day in the sun digging dirt.

Mr Wazoo quilted spring flowers on this very Springlike Irish chain

I love the scrappiness!

Panto: Splat

Sign...I was in the studio which stays about 68 degrees all the time because it is mostly underground.

I spent the morning finishing the tee shirt quilt for the Christian school. By lunchtime, I was able to load it up and quilt it. I ran out of gas at 5:45 and called it a day before getting the black binding attached. No fear, gentle reader, I had a repair ready for the hand sewing!

This is where I started today...

Here it is finished. The school's  sports name is the 'Lightning", so I added two lightning bolts.

Digital panto: Dazzle

The Lanier Lightning

I put another shirt on the back, which was perfect for the Christian school project!

This little quilt was almost left out of today's show! I quilted it late yesterday. Sweet colors and simple design. Very nice.

The customer wanted it done with circles...so I did!
Digital panto: Bubblicious

Tonight, I did some handwork on a double wedding ring quilt I did a couple of days ago. One arc was really trashed and torn, so I made a new arc and appliqued it in. All done!

I traced a pattern to go by from the damaged arc, cut it apart and pressed the freezer paper patterns to the appropriate colored fabrics, then added seam allowances.Here are the bits ready to make into the arc.

I tried to copy the color scheme from the original arc, seen here.

In this picture, the new arc is glue-sticked down and ready to hand sew.

After hand sewing and re-quilting. Cool, huh? Ready for the customer to apply binding.

Progress

I spent the day, yesterday, working on the tee shirt commission and quilting a nice strippy customer quilt. I also took a speed trip to Murphy, NC to pick up a gift for a friend, and get backing for the tee shirt project. Spring has sprung here in the mountains, and the ride was beautiful with all the forsythia, redbud and other blooming trees showing off their finery in yards and fields.

Pretty 30s strip quilt the customer made for her granddaughter.

She requested a 'teenage friendly' panto, and I think this fits the bill.
Its a new digital design, and I can't recall the name off the top of my head.

The back is a cute bandana print

Here is where I am on the tee shirt quilt. I have to cut the sashings and cornerstones, and figure out the rest of the border before I can sew it together. It will have to wait until later today, since this is Misty Mountain Guild day and I have to preside over the meeting.

Tee shirt quilt is coming along.
I used some writing from the backs of shirts for inserts in the border.

I don't recall showing you Mr Wazoo's latest work on a neat Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt. The customer didn't care for the finished top, but I think she'll love the quilt now that it is quilted.

I'm not a fan of purple, but it really blends nicely in this design

Panto: Brocade

Easier to see the quilting pattern on the back.

I also finished a charity quilt for my guild. The binding is done and I'll turn it in today.

The quilt was constructed from blocks made at the guild retreat!
Panto: Quirky

The backing. The binding is the bright turquoise from the front.

Quilting finished, off to be bound.

That's about it for now. My daughter who has been traveling to Australia and New Zealand for six months is coming on the weekend for a visit! She stopped briefly in Arizona to see her sister before passing through Texas to see Grandpa and then here. She posted this picture of herself and my oldest girl while she was in Arizona. I'm excited to see her and hear all about her adventures.

Two of my wonderful children