Hot! Hot! Hot!

All over the country, people are hot. There is no difference here, we have been under the sticky heat wave, too. MrWazoo isn't able to spend time in the yard, and for this I am relieved. We have both been indoors and tackling the chores we hate to do. Nobody likes to tidy up, and I am the world's worst clutter monger! We managed to sort and toss magazines and papers, and briefly see the table tops. Enough of that! I'd rather be sewing!!
I finally decided on the borders for the chicken quilt. Plain black. I am surprised to have chosen this fabric. I auditioned a few other fabrics, but this is the one.

This rooster is ready to have the applique sewn down.

One of the borders had some small chickens running to and fro, but it was nixed. Too busy. Rather than toss the chickens, I made some small blocks with them and have been assembling a wall hanging from them. The next time you see these, it will be done!

I have added sashing and cornerstones, but didn't take a picture yet.

Customer quilts are also being quilted, and both of us have been busy. I had 4H quilt camp and a couple of meetings, so my output isn't remarkable, but it is progress!

This quilt was made from leftover triangles from another quilt! Stunning!

The Tula Pink fabrics are all ocean themed, and the customer requested that as the quilting design.

Octopi, crabs, seahorse, fish and starfish are in the pattern.

From under the sea to in the air! This quilt has a bird theme.

The customer has made one of these quilts for each of her siblings, and they all have the same pantograph: Little Birds

Maybe you can see it better on the plain back.

Mr Wazoo did two quilts for the same quilter. I think she did a really good job with both of them.

Disappearing nine patch is always a good design for a quick and pretty quilt.

There are tiny butterflies on the background fabric, so we used the panto Angel Wings. It looks like butterflies.

This one is a stack-n-whack from a kit.

The fabric is bright and colorful...right down my alley!
Panto: Small Splat

The quilt show is looming on the horizon, and registration closes at the end of the month, so I have been taking an hour here and there to get my own entries moving toward completion. Yesterday, I quilted the Japanese quilt I made at the retreat. Sleeve, binding and label will put it into the 'finished' pile.

Quilted!

The panto is called Clamshell with grasses. I chose a simple design to match the elegance of the Japanese fabrics. Custom quilting would have been lost on this busy quilt.

The backing also came from Japan. It has a large noshi design on the blue background.

Even without his loving care, the yard looks wonderful. Heat and rain made the plants happy.

We are going to our town's Butternut Creek Festival today, and hope it doesn't pour rain on us. The guild has a booth and will be selling tickets for the raffle quilt there. Mr Wazoo wants to buy another birdhouse for the yard. Fingers crossed for a nice day...

The view down the driveway. The brown ramp was built so Mr W could get the tractor into the yard without having to drive all the way around the house to get to the yard.

These hydrangea are only two years old!

There is the welcome to the garden post we got in Oregon.

The walkway to the studio.

The front garden view from the studio.

The fountain/birdbath automatically shuts off at 6PM.
This is what I see when I step out of the studio.

Carolyn sent Mr W the sign for the garden for Father's Day.

We are starting to see more butterflies on the flowers this week. The roses are still struggling along after being attacked by beetles. . Mr W carefully picks the beetles off and drowns them in soapy water. He could spray the bushes, but he doesn't want to kill the bees.

Mr Frog among the roses.

Everything along the flagstone path is looking lush and pretty

Not a lot of color in the back garden, but it is still lovely.
Butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds come and go here. I love to sit on the porch and watch the action at the end of the day.

Another view.

Mr Wazoo wants to add a green birdhouse to the row houses. Only one has a tenant right now, a little Carolina wren.

These hydrangea are a hybrid variety. The heads are huge, but less ball shaped than the regular ones.

Finished!!

I am nearly out the door to quilt camp for the Blairsville 4H, so I'll make this short. I finished the applique quilt! I will post more later, but here it is.

I'll be back n the studio this afternoon, back at work and feeling good!

Progress!!

Remember where we started?

Half finished when I quilt yesterday.

I finished the quilting and have it all trimmed and ready to go home.

Patriotic quilt for the customer's guest room.

The new panto is called Starstruck and has pretty swirls and stars.

It really is a lovely quilt.

All day I worked on the applique quilt. I am at the last row and starting the filler there. Hopefully, tomorrow I will have the borders going. Done by the weekend? We'll see how it goes.

Mr Wazoo was on the phone a lot again today taking care of his mother's business. It looks like we can't have the memorial service in NC until late this month. Next week he meets in Greenville with his sister to make those plans. He is holding up well, and doesn't seem as down as he was yesterday. We'll be fine.

Quiet day...slow progress

Both of us worked inside yesterday because of the heat. 90 degrees is too much for Mr Wazoo to be digging and hauling, so he happily quilted a threesome of table decorations for a customer.

There were two of these table runners, both made with the same fabrics.

The panto is Feathers with a twist.

Both also had this backing.

The card table cover is the same fabric selection, but a slightly different pattern.

A better look at the quilting. Nice neutral projects.

I am in the process of quilting two things; the big applique quilt, and a red, white and blue star quilt.

I'm on the third row of the family oriented Baltimore album.
I'm still in awe of the detail in this quilt. It is beautiful.

The star quilt is getting a new panto I downloaded just for the project. You'll see a photo of it when I finish the quilt.

After a show meeting, I will be back working on these and making progress. I hope to get a tee shirt quilt made over the weekend for a customer who has been patiently waiting. The older I get, the quicker the time flies by.

The angels are singing

Our day began like any other, with a walk through the yard and gardens to the studio. We had a wash of rain last night, so everything was green and happy looking. Even an overcast day is beautiful when there are flowers blooming!

Black eyed Susans (I never liked the name...) finally blooming in the rock garden

The side yard has these frothy white flowers. I don't know what they are, but they are pretty. The Butterfly bush must be seven feet tall!

Roses, ground covers and hydrangea fill in the rest.

This variety of hydrangea is looser than the globe ones.

A bit of bee balm.

The front garden is blooming, too.

These are the rocks Mr W uses for edging and drainage.
Many, many, many bags of them...

Coleus and potato vine. And Miss Photobomb.

Mr W did this one, too. Nice.

We worked indoors today due to on and off sprinkles and thunder. I finished the windmill quilt from yesterday, and it turned out beautifully.

The vintage blocks look modern on their crisp white background.

To mimic the shape of the wheels, I chose the panto: Flower Power

White on white print backing.

Mr Wazoo stuck to the man cave, and quilted a charming lap quilt.

French General fabrics are always lovely.

Mr W chose a rose pattern for the panto: Ribbon Roses

A peek at the back.

I also finished the king sized binding job and sent it home with the quilter. Then, I quilted this small wall quilt for a baby's nursery.

Mother and Grandmother worked together to create this for baby.

They requested a modern panto, so I chose Trinity, to mimic the organic feel of some of the fabrics.

I love the clamshell backing.

Late in the day, we received the call we were dreading. Mr Wazoo's mother passed away peacefully. Tomorrow, we will travel to South Carolina to take care of the business of gathering her belongings and thanking the staff for taking such wonderful care of her.

I have known my mother in law for several years more than I have known my husband. We worked in classrooms next to each other for years; me in 4 year kindergarten and she in first grade. I have been her friend for 42 years. Now, the angels are rejoicing because Pam has come home. We'll miss her forever, but we know she is in a better, more wonderful place.

Mr Wazoo and his mother.