winter blahs

 I don't mind gray days...I get to sew without feeling guilty for not going outside. But winter is a different animal. It teases us with two mild, sunny days, then punishes us with high winds, pouring rain and deep freeze temperatures. Maker up your mind, MotherNature!!

 Today started mild and gray, but turned nasty in the afternoon. I had gone to the local quilt shop to wallow in sale fabric. I spent a good portion of my Social Security check and have goodies to show for it. When I was through, I drove home in a snow flurry. Looking out the window next to my chair now, I see it beginning to collect on branches and shrubs.  

At the sale I found my favorite leather thimble! (Penny ate the last one, naughty girl!) I found a new Sandy Bonsib book, fabric and background to make a sea glass quilt, a quirky armadillo pattern I intend to make for one of my new step-grandkids, a fat bright quarter pack to make the armadillos with, Ruby Star 10" squares and two jelly rolls, and a jelly roll of solid white. (not in the picture) I already put away the three fabrics I bought yardage of. Two batiks and a beautiful botanical background fabric. Cha-ching!

I have to finish the bat quilt before doing anything else, so I finished sewing the center and cut all the pieces for the border bats.

Center sewn!

Ready to make some border bats.

I got the borders sewn to a vintage top I had hanging around, and quilted it. The binding was also made, and I sewed it on today. I'll be hand sewing a couple of nights; it is 89x100! 

With my new borders, this quilt will look great on the queen sized guest bed. I love both the fun 1940s and 1950s fabrics and the hummingbird piecing pattern.

Panto: Espalier

I found this wide back fabric in Hiawassee that looks great on the quilt.

Binding attached and ready to hand sew.

                                                              

You can't see the snow flurry too well here. This was on my way to the house from the studio, about 4:45.

The snow inn the air makes the whole scene look like it's behind a veil.

My daughter texted today that she got the package of her Christmas gifts                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     . The biggest hit was the box! Her cat Maxine claimed it as soon as it was empty. 

                                                                                   

Black cats can hide well in dark places...

A New Year, a new start!

My back problems have finally improved as much as I can hope for, and I feel like I have been given a new lease on my quilting life. This post will be my 2022 year end accounting of what I accomplished, even with my many back procedures and thew resulting down-time. I feel pretty good about what I was able to do.

I quilted 88 customer quilts, the lowest number in ten years!

I made and finished 53 quilts, 32 of them were charity quilts donated to both guilds, 11 were gifts and 2 were prizes after I did a trunk show or demonstration. I kept 8 of them...oh dear!

I repaired 27 quilts, and made 3 customer tee shirt quilts. These were my salvation when I couldn't stand and quilt for more than a couple of hours. Plus, they make my customers so happy when they're done and beautiful again!

I quilted 12 Quilts of Valor, my lowest number in quite a few years.

That makes 212 quilts passing through the Wazoo studio, handled and lovingly cared for by me, It makes all the painful parts of 2022 worth it.

The first customer quilt of 2023 is this patriotic beauty, made for a son who served in the Navy. It is a Quilt of Honor, because he didn't serve in a combat area.

I really like the pattern my customer chose for this project. It has movement and wonderful color placement.

We chose this swirl and star panto to compliment the swirly fabrics.

Nice starry backing.

Daughter number three came for Christmas, making the week a joy for us geezers. We ventured out for short hikes, and some shopping in Blue Ridge. It felt good to move around without back pain!

It was a gorgeous day for a hike around the lake at Vogel State Park.

The views were awesome.

We snapped a selfie half way around.

New Years day brought more rain, but also this spectacular full rainbow. It was a perfect start to the year.

I also changed out the studio quilt by the door from the Christmas log cabin quilt, to my favorite quilt I made with Ruby Star fabric in 2022.

Now, let's get into our sewing rooms and get to work on 2023!

Merry Christmas!!

 My daughter arrived before the "bomb cyclone" that's sweeping the nation, and she got settled in before the cold weather hit. It was 20 degrees this morning and there was frost everywhere. 

 After starting her day in Portland, Oregon at 2:30 AM, Daughter number three was happy to relax. She turned in at 9:00PM and slept soundly until 8:00 this morning!!

We went to the local department store and finished up some last minute shopping before heading to the grocery store for vegan snacks and foods. When we got there, the lot was full of smoke. There was a clutch of men in one of the rows, and an SUV in flames!! Two of the men had fire extinguishers, but weren't making much progress. We parked a row away and watched the car burn and smoke while people rubber-necked and took pictures with their phones. Pretty soon, the fire department came, running lights and sirens, into the parking lot. We went in and did our shopping and when we came out, the fire was out and the car was a shell of its former self. The biggest excitement I've had in a long time. ha ha...I lead a pretty dull life!

 Not a Merry Christmas for whoever owns this car. 

Well, now it's time to sit back, get a plate of crackers and cheese and watch Christmas movies. We do this every year, and enjoy seeing our favorites again. Lasagna roll-ups for supper and muffins for breakfast. We are really getting into the spirit of Christmas. We all took a tour of the neighborhood lights last night, and may take a wider tour later tonight.

Continuation on Dec.24: We didn't go out last night...it was just too cold! This morning it was 0degrees, with a "feels like" of -15 degrees. It will be another very cold day, so the walk in Meeks Park is also a no-go. Lasagna is already prepared, so I won't have to cook either. I hope everyone who reads this has a peaceful and joyous Christmas. Thank you for subscribing and being in my circle of virtual quilting friends.

From the Slatons and Wazoo Quilting!

Almost ready...

 The cookies are all baked, gifts wrapped, cards written and sent, decorations up and twinkling...I think I'm ready! Bring on Christmas!

I have been working on a quilt for a birthday request from Daughter number one. She sent a picture she found and asked for a quilt like that. I'm figuring it out as I go along with some help from the internet and Pinterest!

Here is the picture she sent.

This is what I have come up with so far. Not bad!

A better look at the block.

I found a tutorial for this block, too, and will use it in the border.

Here is what the sashing and cornerstones look like.

The top corner is sewn. I'll probably finish the inside part of the quilt tomorrow.

Now, I need a nap...

It has gotten much colder in the last week. We had several days of gray, rainy weather before a big storm front went through and dropped the temperature. It was in the low 40s yesterday and sunny. I love it! I got out the sweaters and fleeces and put away the tee shirts. Winter is here.

No snow, but still a pretty house!

Both guilds had their Christmas parties this week, and everyone had a good time. Remember when I did a secret project? It was my mystery exchange gift for the big guild. I received an embroidered ornament for the tree, and one of the nicest ladies in guild got my bowl. She makes beautiful baskets (I have two!) and really liked the bowl. Made me happy.

I used all scraps from the  tote bag I made not so long ago

One package of clothesline I had and yards and yards of Kaffe Fasset light prints .

Here is my new handmade ornament on the tree!

My friend, Audrey, got me some soft as a bunny socks for Christmas! They are made by Cuddle Duds, my favorite pajama brand. I have three more pairs in pink, gray and white prints. 

Mr Wazoo had his first cataract surgery on Wednesday. He was so nervous! He's one of those people who scrunch their eyes shut when they have to get drops. I'm giving him two drops four times a day. It's the battle of the eyelid! He is looking forward to having the second surgery in a few weeks.

He only has to wear the shield to bed. Doesn't he look pitiful?

Santa is getting ready for his big flight! I hope you all are putting the final touches on your festivities! 

We are anxiously waiting for daughter number three to come on Wednesday, then the real fun begins!

Lots of rain means lots of sewing!

 We have had foggy, soggy, rainy days all week. That means (when the doctor's appointments are done) I can sew quilt all I want! Mr Wazoo has been in tree decorating mode, and every time I come up from a day in the studio, he has added more stuff to the tree. I like to do the tree, too, but he is having such a good time, I'm taking a pass on decorating and praising his efforts effusively! I really have to stop sewing for a while and bake cookies and write my Christmas cards. All of it has to be sent to far away places, so I need to get busy.

Here are the latest quilts from this week, as well as some of Mr W's efforts. 17 days left! Yikes!!

Quilt for an elderly neighbor who has no family to share Christmas with.

Fun panto called Frosty

A little label

I made one for us! All from my stash of Christmas fabric. I made a dent in the stack, for sure.

My Fav, Stars over Lake Minoqua.

Geometric panto.

Soft and snuggly flannel backing. The binding is ready, but I ran out of time to get it applied.

It started like this, and then got better!

Dogwood full of lighted balls.

Porch illuminations

Back porch lights and bows.

After seeing a picture my daughter sent, he added the lights on the trunk.

The great room is a mess, but the tree is beautiful...

Cudos to Mr Wazoo! Seen here finally relaxing.

That's it for now. I have about half my shopping done and am waiting breathlessly for things to arrive so I can wrap and mail them. I fear everything will be late. Rats. I have to make a list and check it twice. And get busy.

Christmas sewing and decorating

 I've been enjoying some festive sewing and quilting as well as a bit of gift giving. After all, 'tis the season!

I made this lap quilt over the weekend. I added a border and it is loaded on the longarm for quilting today. The pattern is from one of my quilting with pre-cuts books. This one used a layer cake (pack of 10" squares) and a bit of another fabric for the stars. I'll post pics of the finished quilt later.

Meanwhile, Mr Wazoo visited our neighbor, who fell in his yard and broke his ankle, in the hospital where he is recovering from surgery. He took him the Christmas quilt I fmade last week and a package of Oreos ( a request from the patient).

This one

The sunrise here has been especially beautiful on the few days that we haven't had gloomy, gray days. Flocks of geese flying in formation pass overhead often, on their way to warmer places for the Winter. I like this time of year despite the grayness of most days. Gray days are wonderful for hanging out in the studio, listening to Christmas music, touching fabric and pondering what to make next. So many ideas...so little time.

Dawn starts like this...

And morphs into this! It is amazing how quickly the sky changes, getting a paint job for the rest of the day. It doesn't look like this today.

I finished another repair of an interesting quilt. This courthouse steps quilt is all silk fabrics, assembled like stuffed sausages sewn to a muslin foundation. I neglected to take a photo of the missing sausages, but did remember to get one of the finished quilt and a close-up of the new blocks. My silk stash has taken a hit after fixing two silk quilts! I'm hoping things will normalize with cotton quilts soon.

This quilt is extremely heavy and slippery! Someone took a lot of time sewing and stuffing all those logs!

I replaced these two blocks. It took me a while to figure out how to do it without my stitches showing on the purple backing. It was added after the maker finished sewing all the logs to the muslin foundation. I made tubes in the sizes of the logs, lightly stuffed them with wool batting and then, sewed them carefully to the surrounding blocks and each other. The quilting in the ditches holds the blocks to the backing.

Well, it's time to get going for the day. Here are a couple of funnies that I found while surfing random sites last night. The cat one made me laugh out loud! People sure can have some weird ideas. Have a good day, filled with snippets of fun and adventure.

This is the actual comment that went with the photo: 

"These cute little kitties are in fact wearing cone hats made from their own hairballs. We think that is lovely, a little bit weird, and icky, but also lovely."

And one for my friends who are either having knee injections, or have already enjoyed the procedure.