Quilting business in the time of COVID

 I have resigned myself to seeing the stubborn (and I consider them to be ignorant, too) people who refuse to wear a mask in public places. All we can do is distance ourselves from them at the grocery store and get our business done quickly and go home. Yesterday, we went to our local Ingalls store and got our flu shots. I would say about 2/3 of the folks there were mask-less. We got out as quickly as possible and remarked about the disregard these people had for the other shoppers and for the store rule for wearing masks. If you are a Trump supporter, wear a button or a shirt saying so, but don't put other people in jeopardy by flouting your ignorance of scientific fact and go bare faced. Okay, I'm done with my rant, but this is why I won't go out and why I have a mask mandate here in the studio.

I made this video for my grandkids

Meanwhile, in the studio on the Funday-Sunday, I worked on my boxed square quilt while finishing the dahlia quilt on the frame. 

This quilt was made from the quilter's aunt's clothing. There is a generous pillow tuck at the top that she wanted to be really pretty. I think we achieved the goal!

Panto: Paradise Feathers

It shows well on the back, too. The Quilters Dream Puff batting adds the definition she was looking for. Success!

My boxed square quilt top is together and two of the first border pieces  are on.

At the tail end of the day, I loaded my log cabin quilt and started the Baptist fan quilting. I will get this done this morning then get back to customer work. If I start at 9:00 instead of 10:00 I should be able to have it off the machine before the workday starts.

I quilted a couple of rows yesterday, and will git 'er done today.

My new Baptist Fan pattern sits way closer together than my old one. I think it looks more like the hand quilted pattern, but is a bit tricky to position so it doesn't run over itself. We'll see how it looks when I'm finished.

Now, I'm off to  the studio and looking forward to another day of fun. It looks like rain again...

Rainy day quilting

 I did go back to the Jasper store and get the Jo Morton book. Then returned home to quilt. It was an uneventful work day, running the Millie while I sewed the boxed square blocks. Today, I hope to have them all together and do some messing around on the design wall.

I took a couple of my own pictures of the Jasper shop while we were there. It stopped raining for a bit, so I took advantage of it.

There is an old spinning wheel on the front porch.

From the tiny parking area, you can see how close the rail tracks are to the shop.

I finished the last of my sister's quilts, and will be sending them off on Monday.

This panto is called Cupid. I thought it looked nice on this calm, pastel quilt.

Hey! Didn't we see this pretty pineapple fabric on the border of another quilt? 

All stacked up and ready to send to their Wisconsin home.

I got this big dahlia quilt loaded and the pattern set up before quitting for the day. One row has been quilted, and that took about 15 minutes. This should occupy my time today!

Chain piecing blocks for the next quilt.

Jasper, rain and work.

 After I finish writing this post I will be in the car going back to Jasper. I had a Jo Morton book picked up and in my fabric pile, but it didn't make it into my bag. I'm going back to rescue the book, and then return to the studio for another quilting work day. It won't be as nice a ride there because (for what seems like the one hundredth day in a row) it is raining. Thankfully, rain doesn't dampen my enthusiasm for quilting. ha ha...see what I did there? I think I'm going slightly crazy.

Yesterday, I quilted two quilts, rested my shoulder, and looked at loads of quilt books and magazines for my next project. At the end of the day, I cut out a simple Boxed Square quilt from a jelly roll I picked up on the first trip to Jasper. Something to work on while I mull over what to do next!

Another rail fence variation using pastel batiks and ombre fabrics. Simple, but beautiful.

I chose the Keepsake daisy panto for the quilting, keeping the Springlike vibe going. You can't tell from the picture, but the thread is a pale, blush pink.

Pink dots on the back.

The second quilt is this modern floral beauty made from panels of hydrangea. It is so minimalist, I thought a long time before choosing the quilting design.

Panto: Delicate Vines. 

I'm in love with this Parisian backing. I haven't seen it anywhere in my travels, or I would own serious yardage. It would be a perfect backing for my shabby chic quilt. The hunt is on!!

Boxed square quilt all cut and stacked, ready to sew. This will be a Christmasy quilt. I guess I have been inspired by all the Christmas quilts I have taken in lately!

Remember this quilt from last year? I gave it away to a little girl in the audience at my Elijay trunk show, and wish I could have found the Thicket fabrics to make another one. Well, over in Jasper, there was another set of animal pictures of woodland animals and support fabrics by the same artist! It is called Bramble. I bought a set, and will be making a similar quilt like this one...for ME! Stay tuned!

Another week has flown by

 I can't believe it is Friday again. With Covid isolation, I am constantly looking at the calendar in the studio to see what the day and date are. Time seems to pass in a Groundhog Day sameness. If only people would do the right thing and get us past this instead of dragging it on and on. Oh well, I pontificate...Let's move on to something happy. Quilting!

Yesterday was another busy one in the studio. I took in more quilts and returned only one. Millie was running the full eight hours, and thankfully, didn't throw a tantrum or break down. Here are the quilts I finished!

Here is the baby quilt that needed to be done ASAP. It didn't get it loaded until almost 11:00 because I had to  take it apart (it was basted for hand quilting), use the sticky roller to get the flecks of batting off it, and give it a good pressing. The extra work was worth it, because it looks much better now.

The customer chose Stacked Snailz for the panto, and wanted light blue thread. I used a variegated King Tut to give the quilting a bit of sparkle.

I spent another 20 minutes removing more batting flecks from the back  again after it was quilted! I think her batting was Warm and White. Whatever it was, it shed like crazy!!

The next project was this pretty split 9 patch. This pattern is so versatile with all the ways the blocks can be arranged after they are cut. I like the cascading pattern seen here.

Even though there is not a single butterfly in the fabrics, I chose the panto Butterflies because of all the wonderful florals the quilter used. The garden needed butterflies!

Equally pretty floral backing, too.

I snuck in my Nancy Drew quilt at the end of the day, and also sewed on the binding. Later, I finished the hand sewing while watching a cheesy Hallmark movie on TV. Covid quilt number 12 finished.

Panto: Woven Wind. I just wanted subtle texture on this quilt because it is so busy with things to look at. I used a mid-tone gray thread to blend well with all the different colors, too.

Hey! I even remembered to add the label!

During the day, I was able to get the final border on the log cabin quilt and prepare the backing. Hopefully, I will get it quilted on Sunday when I do some self indulgent quilting. I also spent an hour taking what seemed like a thousand safety pins out of a quilt a customer brought me yesterday. She was initially going to quilt it herself, but changed her mind. You'll see it later on when it reaches the front of the growing queue in the man cave. I counted 17 quilts to be done when I quit for the day. Plus the one repair. I certainly have something to do while waiting out the virus! How about you? I hope you all are indulging your creative passions while stuck at home.

A very busy day

 Wow! Yesterday was busy here at Wazoo. There were several visitors (all wearing masks) to pick up or drop off quilts, and my friend Audrey here quilting away in the man cave. It was nice to have someone here to chat with periodically, as well as the stream of customers and new quilts.

I did manage to get some work done, and have a productive day.

I finished my sister's quilt and got it trimmed and ready to go.

I can't remember the name of the panto, but it is lovely on this quilt.

The backing is a petite red dot on white. Perfect.

This quilt is a wonderful example of how a simple pattern (split 9 patch) can look beautiful with the right selection of fabrics.

Panto: Borneo. The panto mimics the flowers in the focus fabric very well. I used a King Tut variegated thread in the colors of the fabrics.

The pale lavender backing looks great with the quilting taking center stage.

Today, I will be taking a detour to quilt one of my own quilts after I do a 'hurry-up' baby quilt for a baby that came way early! Grandma started hand quilting the project, but baby arrived before she got very far with the quilting, and it was scrapped for machine quilting to get the quilt done and ready for baby! I will stop everything for these quilts, because I think every baby needs a quilt to cuddle with and remind them of Grandma or Mama every time they close their eyes to sleep.

Off to work!!

Short jaunt to Jasper

Yesterday morning, three of us girls took a short trip over to Jasper, GA to check out the new (to me) quilt and yarn shop. It is called the Pickens County Mercantile and is located in the old train depot. They have really done a spectacular job with the renovation. The inside of the shop is charming, from the worn wood floors and stairs, to the view out the window of a passing train. The tracks are so close, when a train passed, we waved at the engineer and he smiled and waved back. The selection of fabric is amazing considering the small area they have for merchandise, and the skeins of colorful yarn in the front room make a splash when you enter. Here are a few photos from Google maps and the shop web page, since I forgot to take any of my own.

The sign says it all!

This is the "Before" picture of the station 

Here is the beautifully renovated "After" picture.

In the cutting room, you can see how dedicated they were to keeping the soul of the shop front and center. I loved the wood floors and the patina of age that was throughout the shop.

In the front room, the yarns, books and check out area are the main focus.

I found some wonderful fabrics in the upper room, and even got to see a train go by!

The opening in the wall provides a view from the cutting area to the yarn area.

After we all made our selections, paid and said good-bye, we headed home and I started working. It was nice to visit the new shop, but there are quilts to work on and customer projects to do.

I only had one pass to go on this interesting quilt, and finished it quickly after opening the studio. The fabrics are autumnal in pattern, and have maple leaves in the focus fabric.

I used the panto: Maple Winds to echo the pattern.

The pieced backing featured the maple leaf fabric, too.

I bought the red fabric at the new shop, and it matched well with the log cabin quilt. I went ahead and cut the setting triangles and set to work sewing it all together.

The first half is done, and I will finish sewing the second half today and maybe add a small border  of the same fabric.

While sewing, I also quilted the first of many quilts sent here from Wisconsin. My sister is a prolific quilter and excellent customer! She made this colorful rail fence quilt that has me thinking of how I can use my bins of strips to make one myself! I'll take photos of it today because I finished it after 6:00 and didn't trim it for the 'glamor shots' ha ha

Just a correction from yesterday's post: the panto on the quilt made in my class ( bright green background) is Argus. I mistakenly called it Trailing vine. oops.

Time too get to work! There are a couple of new customers coming with interesting projects for me to consider, and I am anxious to get started.