Household Chores

There were a number of things we all need to do in the fall. Raking/blowing the leaves, taking care of hoses and lawn/deck furniture, putting the flower bulbs to bed. Jim was working on some of those tasks yesterday so he wasn't in the studio much.

I did get the first Carrie R. quilt done and here's some of the quilting going into the Santa... 

Ho, Ho, Ho

I'll be working on her second quilt today on Bernie while frame ironing for the next one on Marty. 

I had a new customer stop by yesterday. I'm not taking any new customers at the current time, but her story compelled me to make an exception. The quilt I'll be working on for Ann and Chad is stunning and since the recipient is 95 years old, time is of the essence. That quilt, I think, needs to be put onto DW as it is very large. 

I have two customers coming today to pick up and I'm not sure if Jim is going to be in the studio or not? We have a baby quilt that needs to be tackled so it can get to Germany before the holidays. And since they go through EVERYTHING, I want to make sure both quilts make it okay. 

The Weekend

I did get a little sewing done on Saturday before the family arrived. Here's my BOW for this past week...

Poinsettia

Aaannnddd...that was about it. The kids were here for quite a while pressing apples for cider, putting the flowers to bed for the winter, taking buggy rides, and watching MSU go into overtime only to lose. Again. 

But I had so much fun playing with the grandkids. 

We had to run into town yesterday for a few things forgotten at Meijer for chili and the girls needed food too. We spent all of yesterday just relaxing and snuggling with the dogs since they were worn out from the grandkid visit the previous day. 

I had an on-line inquiry come through during the weekend and she's supposed to be here this morning to take a look at what it is she's asking me to do. I'll be working on Marty all day while Jim is loading and hopefully quilting, the hedgehog quilt for the Germany kids on DW. 

Very (Un)Accomplished Yesterday

I didn't get nearly enough done in what it was I was initially working on...

Some continuous curves in the triangles

Jim was having some tablet issues on DW. Here's what he's stitching out in Mary's quilt...

He kept touching the work portion of the screen and hosing up his progress. We had to restart the machine a few times because he lost connection. It was just one of those days I guess. But we did make it to the bottom with a few inches to spare on that backing. 

By the time he wrapped up his quilting and I trimmed the piece, it was past quitting time so I shut down Marty for the day. 

Jim asked what was next on DW. We have to get these two baby quilts done and in the mail headed for Germany. Customs goes through everything and last time we sent a package it took five weeks to arrive to the kids. We want to make sure these get there sooner rather than later. 

Having said that, this was loaded last night...

Baby DeGroots first Spartan quilt

I haven't actually quilted with DW in months. His buttons and weight are vastly different than the two Bernina long arms, yet, we fit together like peanut butter and honey (I prefer honey over jelly). 

And since I already had him loaded (we had to put a panel his his backing to make it wide enough), I decided I hadn't had enough long arming yesterday and tore right into it. 

Me doing free motion

Yep, this is NOT computerized but rather me doing the driving. After an hour or so it was finished and is now waiting for me to get it off the frame and trim so it can be bound. 

But the B's are headed up today (pending their alternator repair on the van) and Jim is pressing cider. I'm going to work in the studio for a short bit to get my BOW done. I had made great progress on it last night but then the Bellers decided to have a fire (Kathy's cancer is back) and we knew we needed to spend as much time with them as possible. They are headed to Florida next week for a month. 

If the B's don't come up, then I'll continue in the studio getting the next DeGroot baby quilt loaded. I have to find a back for it and that's another something I'm going to do this morning. I may need to run to Pieces. 

Un-Sewing on Halloween

This quilt was moved from Marty to DW as we decided to do a block by block E2E on it (the customer wanted E2E and something loose). 

Mary's Wensleydale

But, it was not laying straight, and we encountered this...

Backing too small

So we had to do this...

Unsewing the basting stitches

We needed to move it up a bit onto the backing as the quilt is square. Turning it 90 degrees would not have been an option. I hope we make it!

Here's Jim doing what Jim does now with his back injury...

"Babysitting" DW

After we got all of that straightened out and got Jim going on the blocks, I had to load some backs and start some actual quilting myself. 

This back may be an issue...

Drooping back

I rolled it back and forth a few times and it kind of straightened out, but not entirely. It's because it's a) Homespuns and b) Pieced together. It must be a bad backing week!

I'll make it work. At any case, while Jim is working on DW on Marys quilt, I'll be working on Marty on this cute Christmas quilt...

Ho, ho, ho

Yep, I'm starting all the holiday quilts. Actually, I'm going to have one machine doing holiday stuff while the other one is doing queue work. Except this time. The two on Marty and the other I'm loading on Bernie are for the same customer and they are both holiday deadlines. Happy Halloween!

Home for Almost Two Weeks

I'll be home for almost two weeks before jetting off to another retreat. The retreat to rival all other retreats. 

But, I have a LOT of holiday quilts to get out over the upcoming days so I'm back to focusing all my energy there (mostly). We have to get groceries, visit with neighbors we only see once in a while, and house chores. As usual. 

I don't know if this pic shows much, but I finished the door hanger on Bernie yesterday before taking off. 

Taken at a goofy angle

It looks off from this pic (and I just went and checked it) but it must be the weird angle I took it at. At any case, Mary's quilt was moved from Marty to DW. I'm going to digitize this today rather than my doing some free motion in it. I have a motif I want to get in there and it involves a lot of diagonal quilting; long armers have a hard time doing this in long runs. 

I have to pull off the door hanger from Bernie and then reload two backs onto Marty and Bernie both. Holiday quilts preferably. That'll be most of my day in the studio. 

Last Day of This Retreat

This is my last day of the Quirky Quilters quilt retreat. They go by so fast...

I've been working on a pretty intense project this whole week. Lots of little pieces and parts. Many have stopped by my work station to ask what I was up to (as we do as a group) and they are loving the pattern; not loving the tiny pieces and the vast amount of them...

Three of the 'bundles' for the next pic

I have four more of these to go...

I already know how I'm going to quilt these

And all the big books are done...

A sideways view

I'll be working here in the studio on Bernie on the door hanger and getting Jim started on his fourth Shop Hop top on DW this morning before heading up to retreat. 

Hopefully DW will be better behaved this morning as he was having issues yesterday. We ended up pulling a lot of thread out of yesterday's project and may end up just redoing the whole thing depending on what the customer decides. At any case, it's a no charge job since it's become such a problem.

I did get about half the door hanger done yesterday but forgot to grab some pics of my work so will hope to remember to do that today. 

His Old Tricks

DW has had a little quirk ever since I can remember. He'll lose electrical contact at random times while he's doing whatever; basting in, quilting, digital work. 

When he does this during a digital stitch out, he misaligns himself and then all is chaos. Unless you know what you're doing. 

Here's where he 'choked' yesterday...

Hardly even started

This occurred after I left and while Jim was here by himself. He didn't know DW did this (or forgot about it) and hasn't a clue how to realign the motif within the area he needs to quilt. 

Today's lesson is repositioning and getting things back on track. And this is reason #412 why you can't just press GO and expect instances like this not to occur if you don't keep an eye on things. This is reason #413 why I prefer to do custom; I'm in control and not some computer. 

I worked on my book pattern at retreat and will head back up there after lunch. I need to get Jim going again and I need to start the piece on Bernie this morning before heading off to play with my friends.