Rainy week, finished quilts!

I think I am getting back in the swing with my quilting. I did have to make another call to APQS with a crashing problem, but (fingers crossed) it should be fixed now. The last QOV is done and all of them are back where they came from. I received the notice there are more on the way!

I'm a big fan of Jewel Box, the pattern used here. I especially love the scrappy look achieved here.

Old favorite panto: Simply Stars

Stars on the back, too!

I watched three episodes of Anne with an E last night while doing the hand sewing on the kit quilt. I finished the quilting yesterday and sewed the binding, attaching it right before quitting for the day. I think it turned out really well.

Hot off the Bernina and ready for the handwork.

I made a special effort to remember the name of this panto...didn't work.I can't remember the name, but it's pretty.

The design looks nice on the simple muslin  backing.

One afternoon I made a charity quilt for the evening guild, and handed it in at our meeting on Thursday night. I was the program, too, and gave a demonstration on applying  binding. One of the members had a headlamp thing for show and tell, and she suggested I try it to see if it helped with sewing. Some joker snapped a photo and put it on Facebook. Oh well, I have looked more stupid in my life...

FYI: the headlamp doesn't help at all...it just makes you look like a nut!
Here I am doing my demo on binding.

The charity quilt is a 2-3-2-6, done with only one color for the frames

The owl fabric is cute without being cutesy. The white  fabric is sparkly like snow.

My favorite way to attach a label is to sew it into the binding.

Other happenings during the week were Mr Wazoo's first trip to his MD here in town, flowers for him from daughter number three and the inclement weather. Mr W is going to have more therapy for his weird walking. He's not thrilled, but I think he'll benefit from some advise from an expert. He rode the tractor yesterday and mowed the grass. Strange thing to say in January, but we have had such mild weather and so much rain, the grass was getting too thick and tall to easily locate the poop bombs Molly left for us!

Carolyn sent some manly looking flowers, and as they open, we love them even more! So pretty.

My Granddaughter visited her  mom from college for a few days and they took a girls trip to the Grand Canyon to see the sunrise over the rim. I think daughter number one misses her more than she lets on. Here they are, in a selfie at the canyon.

Our view has been fog and rain, but it is so beautiful in its starkness. The photos of the mountains and the yard almost look as though they were taken in black and white! I noticed movement when taking these, and saw the deer munching on Mr W's shrub. Uh oh...run away, little mama!

Today I'm finally off with the girls to the fabric shop over the mountain. It should be a fun day. Mr W is staying home alone for the first time since the stroke, and he has his new  phone for any emergencies. I think he'll be fine.

Amy and Hana 

Clouds hanging low in the mountains and forest

There is that pesky deer!

The clouds hanging low in our neighborhood

I did this customer quilt earlier this week.

Panto: Alchemy. I thought it looked like the Crossed Canoe pattern in the piecing.

The back.

Here are Mr W's flowers right out of the box.

Here they are two days later!

Back in the saddle

The Millie is humming again and I am proud of myself for getting the software figured out this far! In my start back to work, I quilted Quilts of Valor that needed to be done for upcoming  ceremonies. There were four to do, and all are finished and ready to go to the binding person. One needs to be trimmed, so I will show you that one next time out.

I'm not sure why the quilter made this one sideways, but I think it's pretty anyway.  I think I would have done it vertically so the user could enjoy the pattern while using it.

The backing was also on the horizontal, so it was meant to be this way. The center fabric is really nice. 

I used my go-to panto, Simply Stars

Number two is this crazy quilt pattern of patriotic fabrics.

I used Simply Stars on this one, as well.

The backing is pieced with two starry fabrics, so the panto was perfect for the project.

Number three is this panel quilt. The panel has a Native American chief, so I thought I would change it up a bit and use a different pattern for the quilting.

This panto is called Woven Wind and I thought it would compliment the graphics on the front.

A sky blue fabric on the back completed the quilt.

A large portion of Sunday was spent re-sewing blocks from the commission quilt so they would fit together. The 16 blocks ranged in size from 16 inches square, to 17 1/2 inches square! I think there were two people making the blocks because of the difference in the seam allowance sizes. Some had the standard quarter inch, but many had a really skinny, about eigth inch, seam. Some points had to be sacrificed, but I think it's coming along nicely. I'm going over the mountain to fabric shops on Thursday with my girlfriends, so I'll be on the hunt for a larger print for the final border to compliment the quilt. The whole thing is from a late 1970s kit, so I may have to get creative with a complimentary fabric!

One more border, then I'll be on to the quilting!

Mr Wazoo is keen to get in the walking he is supposed to be doing as part of his rehab, so we have decided to fit walks into our day as often as we can. Sunday we went to Meeks Park and tried out the simplest trail. It was a gloriously lovely day so we enjoyed both the hike and the outdoor exercise stations as the far end. Despite the downed branches and puddles from the storm the night before, there were other walkers and runners taking a turn in the park's beauty.

Saturday night, we had severe weather and a tornado warning! Mr W, Molly and I spent some quality time in the studio waiting for it to pass. The wind howled and the sheets of rain battered the house, but there was no major damage to our little corner of Georgia.

At Meeks Park the next day, we stopped at the map to choose the trail to take. Mr Wazoo wasn't keen to climb any steep paths, so we stayed on the trail that follows the creek around the park.

The water was high and the sound of it rushing along was really soothing.

Nobody kayaking today!

You can see how high the water has been in the past by looking at the other bank. They have had some doozies of floods over the years!

Mr Wazoo enjoying the sunshine and fresh air.

On the return trip to the car park, I snapped this picture from the bridge over Butternut Creek.

Yesterday, our walk was squeezed in between rainfalls, so we stayed close to home. No matter which direction you take from the house you will be climbing a big hill. We chose the downhill for the trek away from the house, and the harder uphill slog for the return trip. We didn't go too far, but it was certainly a hard workout for the recovering patient!

At the bottom of the hill, this is the view across the gap to Epp mountain. 

Mr W after the walk up the hill. That's our driveway behind him. The final insult of the walk is the climb up the drive to the house!

Here is a nice picture of the house from the street...

...And from halfway up to the house.

I spied something bright orange-red in the garden in front of the house and went to investigate. These gross looking mushrooms were the culprits. My Plant Snap app says it is called Elegant Stinkhorn. An oxymoronic name for a yucky looking plant! Most of them were laid over or broken by the earlier rain. Still, I think I would pass them over as a food source!

Adapting to the slow lane

A week has passed since Mr Wazoo came home from stroke rehab, and I am seeing the areas where he needs work. The seatbelt is a major frustration, as is turning the knob on the outside door. These little things drive him up the wall, but he doesn't give up trying. Anyway, there are some things that slow us down, but don't run us over! He is making a jigsaw puzzle to exercise his brain as well as improve his motor skills picking up the little pieces. Fatigue sets in around three or four and he is in bed by eight.
On the quilting front, I successfully hooked up and updated my Millie's computer, but it has a couple of glitches that are making me crazy. I need to get moving on the four Quilts of Valor, as well as the remaining custom jobs. I'm reading the new instructions for the computer and hope my tired brain can remember what I have read and apply it to the machine!
I finished a repair for which I forgot to take 'before' pictures. Oops! There were only about twenty worn and torn pieces, so the repair went along quickly once I found compatible fabrics for the job. We sent it off to the owner yesterday. She was Mr W's physical therapist in Marietta! He told her what I did for a living and she brought me the quilt the next day. A week later, it's good as new.

Here is the quilt, all finished and pretty.

My gray fabric is somewhat lighter than that in the quilt. The two patches with the 'smudges' must have been bleached in the past. They are perfectly fine.

My brown is a bit darker than the quilt brown. The slight color differences aren't too noticeable after re-quilting. You can just spy black repairs on the left of the picture. There were more black pieces worn out than any other fabric.

Another gray repair.

My dots are different, but still look similar enough to blend in.

My pink floral also blends in well. It is in the upper right hand corner.

The backing was really hard to find a match for. It had bleach spots and almost white areas on the light blue patterned fabric. I used a blue and white cloudy looking fabric to mend the holes, after adding bits of batting to fill in between the top and back patches.

We traveled to Cumming this morning early to have the car's windshield looked at. Remember when we went on vacation and had two rocks hit it and crack it badly? It was replaced, but has leaked into the cabin on the passenger side every time it rains! We would come out to find a large puddle in the Weathertech mat and water dripping from under the dash. There has been a rolled up beach towel there for weeks! We'll know if it is fixed tomorrow morning...it is supposed to rain tonight!

While in the big city, I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a bolt of Kona black for the studio and six yards of Kona red. I use black and red solids often in customer tee shirt quilts, and was totally out of both. My 40% coupon there made a huge difference. Then, over to Joann for a new Ott floor lamp for next to my living room chair. 50% off that one! A good day shopping, for sure.

Ribs for supper, the man settled in the recliner and a fire in the hearth. Life is still good.

Off to a slow start

This week we regroup and make our plan for 2020 stroke recovery. It started with a trip back to Marietta for the sign off of the cardiologist. One more trip in February and we should be done with the long rides, putting the event in the rear view. Mr Wazoo is doing very well. His most frustrating task is fastening his seat belt in the car. He has given up wearing jeans for now because of the near impossible task of buttoning the top of the fly. I got him a tool for buttoning shirts and zipping zippers but it doesn't work on jeans buttons. They are too big and tough. Sweat pants for now!
I finally worked up the ambition to get back in the studio. Mr W sat and read his discharge instructions and exercise regimen, snoozing on and off. The quilt was a big one, taking three days to complete. The wide borders are a panto and the embroidered blocks are custom quilted. As a first project, it was a challenge. Here it is, all done!

The customer did all the embroidery, and found there perfect border fabric for her mountain home.

The Panto on the borders is Modern Leaves

I stitched all the ditches and then stitched around all the appliquéd and embroidered elements. Then, I echoed each one once. I did the same in the bear paw blocks in every other row. She wanted the quilting kept looser and soft, as the quilt will be used on her bed.

I love this backing fabric! Look closely and you cans see some  of the quilting.

To finish up the year 2019, I reviewed my photo log and came up with these statistics.

Number of customer quilts done with pantos and custom: 259

Number of commissioned and repaired quilts: 25

Quilts I made (both for customers ands for show, for my stash and charity donation): 43

Quilts of Valor: Quilted- 32, Made by me: 2

I hope to do more sewing for myself and my friends and family and do less customer work in 2020. I will start by not taking custom quilting for a while so I can devote more time to Mr Wazoo and his recovery. Time is precious, and I need to adjust my priorities and live every day conscious of how fleeting the time is.

Stay tuned for the 2020 adventures of the Wazoo quilters!