More finishes, another start.

I finished the Mexican Star quilt and it has gone home with its maker. I think it is really beautiful.

The dimensional blocks really pop.

Some of the quilting.

A peek at the back

Mr Wazoo worked on and completed this baseball themed quilt.

Its a Christmas gift for a Mets fan

Masculine panto: Yodel

Mets fabric on the back!

I loaded and computer quilted the centers and melons on this wedding ring quilt. Then I un-loaded it and will get it on the Gammill tomorrow for the hand guided quilting.

Here's the "before".

I prefer the look of hand guided quilting when I can do it and have it look good. I use the computer patterns, but don't always like how perfect they look. People aren't perfect. My quilting is organic and imperfect.

Centers and melons done. Tomorrow, I start the quilting I really enjoy.

One of my customers sent me a picture of a quilt Mr Wazoo did a while back, and how it looks on her bed. She says her kids have already had a fight over who gets it. Oh my!

Its a blast to see the quilts in their "natural habitat".

One day closer...

I am so excited!! My entire family will be here for Christmas. Our daughter, who lives in Arizona, and my two grandkids will make the trip for the first time in years. The twins will both be here, too, as well as my son, his wife and two more grandkids!! This house will be a beehive of activity and fun.
Until that happens, we will be quilting or fingers off to get our work done. Mr Wazoo did two for the same customer, and I began a custom quilt for a friend.

The first quilt is this patriotic one. It will be a great gift for a family member!

The customer requested swirls, so that is what Mr W did. I don't know the name of the pattern...sorry.

Swirly backing, too.

The second quilt was this pretty French General fabric one.
The stars are just scrape enough to give the quilt some sparkle.

Panto: Trellis Vine

Matching backing.

The custom quilt has intricate manipulated fabric blocks.

The name of the pattern is Mexican Star. It's really beautiful.
I am about 2/3 done with the quilting, and have it re-loaded from the APQS to the Gammill for the hand guided quilting. I prefer to do my free motion quilting on the Gammill.

This morning when we got up, it was really cold!! 20 degrees! I took a picture from the same location on the road as a few days before, just to show you the difference in climate from here to the mountain tops! The snowy peaks were pretty.

On the home front, it's beginning to look Christmasy.
The tree decorating is finished and we have started to get the other items out, as well.

Sure, there's work waiting, but Christmas comes only once a year and we have to stop and enjoy  the traditions and make new memories.

28 days...oh dear!!

I suddenly realized there are only 28 days until Christmas. How did that happen?! We have so much work to be done here at Wazoo, and more coming tomorrow!! I haven't shopped or made anything for anyone. No more days off until the quilting is caught up.
We did have two nice Thanksgivings. The first one at our friend's house, featuring my vegetable lasagne and Kay's made from scratch tiramisu. Yesterday, I made the whole shebang turkey dinner for 6 people. We had a good time, despite the turkey taking 45 minutes longer to cook than expected. Even so, the meal and the company was were wonderful. My daughter went to Portland, Oregon last week and landed a new job there. She'll be leaving North Carolina in January. I'll really miss having her close by and her visits here to the mountain. Once again, my kids will be scattered to the four corners of the USA.
My elves have been busy sewing the blocks for the raffle quilt. The show is in 2019, but the quilt needs to be done so we can raise money with it. The center blocks are done, and my friend Gail is sewing them together. We'll add a small red inner border, then an appliquéd border on a black background. It is going to be beautiful!

We juggled the blocks around until we liked the layout, and then labile and stacked them for sewing. This isn't the final layout, but its close.

Mr Wazoo has been quilting in between jaunts outdoors to winterize the gardens and yard. I have been quilting, cooking, decorating and entertaining! There just aren't enough hours in a day, are there?

It took three days for me to finish this big quilt, but isn't it a spectacular project?

Panto: Ivy swirl

This will really make someone happy.

Mr W is still plugging along on the 12 Christmas quilts. This is number 8.

Panto" Alfresco

Pink Paris and polka dots again for the backing.

Quilt guild is tomorrow, and I'll be home quilting in the afternoon. Time flies when you're having fun! My idea of fun is a good Christmas movie and some popcorn. Carolyn and I watched Holiday Inn, White Christmas, A Christmas Carol (the George C. Scott version), Christmas Vacation, The Holiday, and Trading Christmas while she was here. I have a cabinet full of Christmas movies, and try to watch them all every year. Last night I watched Love Actually and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Oh yeah, I have the music on most of the day, too. You may have guessed I love Christmas. Only 28 days to go. Yikes!! I had better get busy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

No turkey here today. We will be having an unconventional Thanksgiving tomorrow with friends and our daughter, Carolyn. She is a vegetarian and the friends don't like turkey. I am making a vegetable lasagna, and my friend is making sides and tiramisu for dessert. It should be an unconventional twist on a traditional meal. Mr Wazoo is a turkey lover, (so am I...) so we will have some turkey eating friends over for the traditional turkey-fest on Sunday. A four day celebration is fine with me!
Yesterday, we closed out the week with a bit of sewing and quilting. I finished the top and backing of the huge tee shirt quilt and added it to the quilting line. Customers visited and picked up their quilts, and we got a couple more done.

This quilt is so cute!! Retro fabrics and modern trees are a great combination

Panto: Candycanes. This was an intricate pattern. Each pass took 20 minutes!! Wow!

Super cool retro poinsettias on the back

This quilt has such a wonderful story. The customer made it for her friend whose husband passed away. The friend has a dachshund, and the dog sweaters on the quilt are made from her husband's flannel shirts.

She chose the Heartstrings panto to show her love.

Cozy flannel backing.

On the way to guild the other night, I had to pull over and snap these pictures! It struck me that it was Moon Over the Mountain...like the quilt block. We see this vista every time we drive to town .I love the view.

In the distance is Brasstown Bald, the highest peak in Georgia.

A bit wider view.

When I got home from guild, this was Mr Wazoo's surprise! The tree is up and the lights are on. When Carolyn gets here, we'll start decorating it. Christmas is coming, folks...are you ready? I'm not! For now, let's savor the holiday at hand and enjoy our family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving!

I took this from the comfort of my armchair. 

What is a normal day?

We started out in the studio getting quilts loaded and listening to Christmas music. Nice. A couple of customers stopped in to get their quilts, and we chatted a bit. All very normal for Wazoo. The only thing that was out of the ordinary was a trip to the local movie theater to see Bohemian Rhapsody. It was a fun diversion from an otherwise regular workday. If you like Queen and want to hear the music and see how it all came to be, go see it!! I liked it.
Back at home, I finished another of the 12 quilts of Christmas for our prolific customer. I expect her tomorrow morning to pick up another three quilts.

This one has the bright magenta Kaffe Fassett fabric as the focal fabric. 

I chose the Frolic panto.

another Paris backing, too.

Mr Wazoo (still coughing, grumbling and snorkeling in his man cave) quilted a carpenter's star quilt. 

The focus fabric in this quilt is lovely!! It is in the wider inner border as well as the piecing

We chose Come Dance With Me as the panto. It always looks elegant.

The back is this mottled brown

I am in the process of doing the binding, too. I got it sewn on and will do the final sewing tomorrow. It will be machine done to save the customer some money.

I made the borders for the tee shirt quilt and will also be sewing them on tomorrow. Another regular day of quilting is planned. I think this would be the night to hit the hay early! Say good night, Molly!!

Great day, and a slideshow!

I met my goal of finishing the big oriental quilt, and constructing the tee shirt quilt top. Life is good!!
My two friends came for a studio visit and we had a wonderful time chatting and catching up. Tomorrow, I move on to new projects in the quilting queue.

Big, beautiful  oriental quilt

A better picture of it's size

Panto: Oriental Clouds

The backing is another pieced quilt for the colder months.

The customer wants a king sized tee shirt quilt, and she is going to get one!!

There will be two columns of tee shirts on the back, too!!

Well, tomorrow we have people coming to pick up quilts. It will be a happy day. After lunch, I'm going to the movies with friends to see Bohemian Rhapsody. Should be a fun diversion. We'll be quilting, too. There are quilts calling to us and we have to finish them.
Here is the last of the slideshows. I sure had a good time in Houston. It is an inspiration to see what people can do with fabric and skill.

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