Too much of a good thing

In my zeal to get the last of the custom quilts finished and gone I have caused an overuse injury to my right arm. Boy, is it painful to do such little things like brushing my teeth or hand sewing the big repair job. My plan is to stick to machine sewing the commission projects for a couple of days and rest the affected muscles. Ice and rest will hopefully fix the problem. If not, I'll have to go see the doctor about it...sigh.
Meanwhile, back in the studio, we are back to our normal pace of working. Mr Wazoo has time and freedom to work in the yard without guilt, and I am comfortable with the time I spend in the studio. In fact, one day last week I was able to take a day off and advise a fellow long arm quilter with his foray into more complex quilting, and some of the finer points of pantograph quilting. His work is beautiful, and I am so excited to see his progress. Then, it was back to the studio.
Mr W finished the last of the quilts from my sister, and now I'm ready for my trip to Wisconsin to return them to her!

This is the second of the two blue and yellow quilts she made, and it is just as lovely as the first one.

Panto: Alfresco

Soft and beautiful

Blue and yellow continued with this brick and block quilt from one of our favorite customers.

Panto: Featherize

The backing is reminiscent of Provence in France. Gorgeous!

Yesterday, Mr W worked on two double sided tee shirt quilts made by the same customer.
This is number one.

Quilted with Dazzle, our favorite panto for tee shirt quilts

The second quilt was done with the panto Basketweave.

I have the custom quilt done as far as the last 10 inches of the side borders and needing to quilt the bottom border. It has been slow going due to the excess amount of fabric to work in along the way. The borders have been a challenge, and all the manipulation needed is what has messed up my arm. I really want to finish this, and every time I quilt a bit of it, my arm screams for me to stop. The plan is to do a tiny bit of quilting on it, and then go to sewing to rest my arm. 

Working in the fullness in the body of the quilt was fairly simple by quilting straight lines to mash down the fabric. Its hard to see the feather wreath in the printed parts of the design.

The borders are another animal altogether. The appliqué has to be ditched, and then the background dealt with. Here, you can see some of the fullness issue I have run across.

With just this much left to do, I am so frustrated to not be able to finish the job today.

Hopefully, I will have this last border conquered and the quilt  going home before too long.

Yesterday, I backed the tee shirt blocks with stabilizer, cut the blocks to size, and sewed the rows together. I have to add the top and bottom borders and then, I'll be ready to quilt this one. Unfortunately, both of my machines have quilts on them. Because it is supposed to be a perfect day outside, Mr Wazoo plans to work in the yard, so having him quilt it is out of the question, too. Another addition to the queue!

Almost there...

Quiiiiiilt me!! Quiiiilt me!...
Its calling me...

Rain, rain, rain, rain

Today, it stopped raining ... for a bit. I'm glad we live on a mountain and not in a valley! The river and lake are really high and about to overflow their banks. We just get on with it and pray for the rain to stop soon.
On the quilting front, we haven't stopped to do anything but eat and sleep. I hope we never get this piled up again. I love the work, but I am stressing out over all the sewing I have to do and how it eats into my quilting time. Hopefully, when all the graduating is done and the tee shirt quilts have moved into their new homes, I'll get a little breather. I am not taking any more custom work for a while. The repair work is so wonderful, I'd rather do that. And quilt, of course. There has to be a balance between work and creativity, and mine is out of balance right now.
Here is what a week at Wazoo looks like. Fasten your seatbelt!!

The second family quilt finished and bound

I quilted this Cars quilt with race cars!

It has a minkie back

Mr Wazoo did this quilt with the panto, Paisley

The first of two tee shirt quilts, prepped and ready to sew

I quilted this lovely quilt

The panto is a new one, Flowing Leaves

Our second Christmas quilt for 2018!

Mr W used the panto Holly Ribbon, and metallic gold thread

He also quilted this Christmas quilt for the same customer

Panto: Snowflakes

The second tee shirt quilt, cut and later prepped and now ready to sew.

Mr W did this one, too. I don't know if they are lamps or bird houses...

Panto: Yodel

First tee shirt quilt quilted, bound and ready to go

Panto: Stipple

I did two modern quilts for an art quilting customer

Panto: Bubblicious

Same customer...Sort of a modern sampler

Panto: Yodel

Mr W busy again, quilting this outer space beauty

I wish you could see the shiny thread...

It has a pieced back, too. And a whirly, swirly panto.

In the evenings, I have been repairing the trip around the world quilt. All the pink squares are done, and I am on to the next print. The more I work on it, the more places I see that need to be fixed!

I'll be at it for a while, I recon.

Tomorrow, I will be starting a custom job while trying to get the second tee shirt quilt sorted. I think I can get it made by the weekend and have it back to the new grad.

Meanwhile, Molly went to a new groomer who cut her mustache off! Mr Wazoo didn't think to tell them how he wanted her clipped, so we'll just have to get used to a pointy faced dog until it grows back. She is still my Molly, just a bit comical looking.

At least she smalls nice...

Same bright eyes and fun smile, though.

Time to hit the hay for me. I have a meeting tomorrow afternoon, so I want to get in the studio early and get something accomplished. Ta for now!

Too busy (and tired) to post

 Well, almost a week since the last post. Mea culpa! We have been quilting and gardening and doing guild activities. The week just flew by. Let's get caught up, shall we?!
I finished the two quilts of valor and sent them on to the binding person. Mr Wazoo has been splitting his time between garden duties and quilting, but has kept up with the work very well.

Mr W did the panto part of this quilt with the design, Paisley. I custom quilted the medallion in the center.

The customer tells us that this is the crest of the church the recipient is pastor of in Rhode Island. The quilt is a gift.

The second quilt of valor

Panto: Simply stars

I also started work on my next repair project, a much loved trip around the world quilt. Whole rows of fabric are worn out, exposing the lumpy batting inside. I'll be working on this one for a long time.

The customer is a girl going off on her own when she graduates from college. She has had this quilt since her childhood and wants it in her new home.

The five squares in the very center are completely gone.

Rows in need of TLC

Oops! There is a big rip in the border here.

This quilt was made by a group of friends for the family of their quilting buddy who recently passed away from cancer. They requested the blue stitching in the light areas, not something I would ordinarily do.

Custom quilted on the APQS

From the back

Mr Wazoo quilted this modern quilt. I love the fabrics.

Panto: Yodel

The back is also pieced

Does this look familiar? One of the Block of the Month ladies finished her quilt, and I got to quilt it!

I used a digital pumpkin seed panto that mimics one of the quilt's fabrics.

I did this Minnie Mouse quilt, too.

Panto: Stacked snailz

I also quilted this sweet lap quilt

Panto: Frolic

My sister made this colorful quilt.

Mr W quilted it with Yodel

My sister made this one, too! Blue and yellow...Yum!

Panto: Small splat


I don't remember if I told you about the customer who unexpectedly passed away a few months ago. She was a fun lady who loved to quilt. Her husband brought over her last project (about half made) and asked if I would finish it for him to give to one of her siblings. Sure, why not.
Later, he brought two truck loads of fabric and I am now making the last four quilts she had the fabric for and hadn't started. It took a while to dig through the large bins he brought and find the actual quilt fabrics. This woman liked all sorts of crafts and she had bins and bins of unrelated stuff.
The fabric I put together for the second quilt is really pretty. French General from Moda. It has the nicest feel to it...so soft! I need to put together two more fabric combinations to finish the project. I think about Louise and smile while I work.

This was Louise's last project, and my first finish for her family.

I can't remember the name of the panto...

I later added the red, black and gold stripe binding. It is finished!

This is the second quilt I made for another sibling. Here it is as a flimsy. I quilted it today and have the binding ready to apply tomorrow.Lovely fabrics. I'll get a picture tomorrow, too.

 I'll be taking a break from the sibling quilts to get a couple of tee shirt quilt orders put together. I think I can cajole Mr Wazoo into quilting them for me...We'll see. 

May is winding down and we are running headlong into Summer! Beautiful sunny day today...but some showers tonight. Not too hot, nice mountain breeze...I'll take it!