The Beast

I've put some pretty big quilts on the frame before. I think the biggest was around 108" square. This new one tops them all. At a whopping 115" square, it wins the prize.

I've on again-off again worked on this top since receiving it Thursday, and have barely dented the work needed in it. Yesterday was a good 6-hour stint and I only rolled it once. And it wasn't a complete roll since the appliqué is vertical.

The Beast

The rest of the weekend was spent looking for a new friend for Hazel. With no luck. It seems pit bulls are the breed of choice lately, and we just aren't wanting to go there. I have NOTHING against pits. I love all dogs. But with the plethora of breeds to choose from, they aren't my particular favorite to look at, nor do I really know that much about the breed itself.

We will continue our search. But Hazel certainly enjoys car rides with mom and dad.

Going bye-bye

Since the weather is supposed to be mostly yucky through until Friday, I guess I'm going to continue chipping away at this beautifully pieced top for my customer. It's a pleasure to work on, and the extra time spent putting in the quilting detail in will enhance the time the customer herself put into it.

A Low-Keyed Day

I was so sore yesterday from all those fence posts on Monday so things were kept relaxed, but productive nonetheless.

Another set of blocks completed for Long Time Gone.

Long Time Gone Flying Geese Blocks

Some long arming on the Flowery Kaleidoscope top.

Flowery Kaleidoscope Quilt Detail

Playing with Hazel (who too was pooped out from Monday's fence project to really play a whole lot). And a celebration of her being 33 weeks old. Although, she's starting to show signs of not feeling well again. Sad Face!

Hazel at 33 weeks

And my Angela Walters Build-A-Block came in the mail yesterday, so I pieced that. No pic for it though.

I've already got most of my chores down outside today (picking up sticks, weeding flower beds, taking care of fence building yuck, etc.) It is sunny outside today, but not too awful warm (mid-50's).

Unproductive Productivity

The weekend was spent spending time with Jim and my mom. The kids didn't make it up for Easter Sunday, but Jim and I and Mom and I made the best of the weekend. Friday was spent with my quilting friends from downstate and Jim and I ran about 1,000 errands. When mom and I went to Houghton Lake on Saturday, I was able to pick up those wide backs needed for both of the Tula Pink tops I've completed.

Did I tell you about that? Thursday I wanted to load my Tula Butterfly. I measured the top, then measured the back. Loaded the back and measured it again. When I put the top on the batting, it was about 15 inches too long from the backing. UGH!! So this got loaded instead.

Flowery Kaleidoscope Top

Sunday was spent in Midland with Jim doing more errands and out to lunch. I did do a little piecing on the Long Time Gone top and this is where I ended my Sunday.

Long Time Gone block in progress

Yesterday we finally had a very nice spring day. It was more summer-like then spring actually. Temps in the upper 70's and since we are just starting the warm weather, bugs were at an all time low. This is what I accomplished yesterday.

Hazel's new night time pen being constructed

Absolutely zero studio time because by the time I got 11 of the 12 holes dug, Jim arrived home with the posts. We cemented the bottom part of the posts (because I was only able to get down about 24" with the holes; we have terrible clay here on the property), and then the rest of the posts were packed back in with that clay.

This is going to be Hazels permanent "night time" area. We have an awful skunk and porcupine problem up here and I'm really not into her getting tangled up with either of these critters. She'll go out at night in this enclosure to do her potty thing. The current fence we have looked kind of trashy and not very aesthetically pleasing to customers who come to drop off/pick up quilts. And we didn't really like the look of it either not to mention it's pretty flimsy with just the t-posts holding up the wire.

By the time we finished with this part of the project I was absolutely wiped out. I hadn't eaten all day, took in very little water, and was feeling the headache and body ache effects of this behavior. Today is our typical gloomy, cooler weather day (although the sun is supposed to come out later) and will make up for tomorrow in the studio today.

Jamming

The weather, the time of the day, and what I'm working on, will set the stage for what music I jam to when I'm in the studio. Long arming yesterday, after blogging, the sun decided to show itself for the better part of the morning and early afternoon. Classic Rock! On high volume!

If working a pattern I'm not familiar with, classical music plays softly in the background.

If it's chain piecing that's very mundane work, I listen to podcasts about quilting. Or YouTube videos (that's how I get caught up on those).

Since yesterday was a culmination of all of the above, I had a variety of things playing on my Mac (Irma).

Customer quilt is nearly done. I have to pull it off this morning, eliminate any markings, and check for any tie-off threads. She's picking it up later this afternoon.

Steam Punk is done

Before working this piece though, I did slip in some Poppins bag time, but made myself stop before lunch time (or I would have just gotten wrapped up too deep and wouldn't have let it go).

Afterwards, when the storms decided to come rolling in, I worked on a few more blocks for the Long Time Gone top. My original thought on this piece was that it was going to be quick and easy to make, but it's turning out to be more labor intensive then it presented itself to be.

Courhouse Steps on top and Churn Dash below

The pattern called for 21 churn dash blocks and nine courthouse blocks. Looking ahead to today, I have four log cabin blocks to make and a crap load of half square triangles coming my way. Tomorrow I'm going downstate to sew with a few of my previous guild members, so cutting these pieces and getting them done tomorrow seems like a good idea.

Update on Hazel: She's still eating as much grass as she can find (we are just starting to get it poking out of the ground from winter) so I know her tummy is still bothering her. But her stools (I know, gross, right?) are firmer so maybe we're heading in a forward direction with her recovery!?

Short Post

Rulers! Gotta love them or ya gotta hate them. I'm getting to love them. I'm using the Handi Quilter BIG Swiss Cheese Template to work on the Steam Punk top. It certainly makes doing circles much easier.

Using rulers on the long arm

The rest of yesterday was mostly getting my new Secret Drawer put together and installed under DW's frame. It arrived around lunch time and after installing it, I had to rearrange the studio a bit to accommodate all the new space I now had. Maybe another drawer for the other side would be a benefit?

I've also started chipping away at my Poppins bag. I think I'll just go at it bit by bit so the other projects being worked on don't feel left out.

Another gloomy day in Michigan today so I'm going to take advantage.

What's Better Than a Snow Day?

A cold, rainy day. Perfect for quilting.

Here's what was happening in my neck of the woods.

Hazel was doing her Kilroy impression

She seemed to do that a lot yesterday. As seen below as well.

The Selvage Quilt

I attached the lattice portion of the top and then started setting up for the the next round. I worked on this after I worked on the Steam Punk quilt for one of my customers.

Prior to working on the Steam Punk piece, 21 Churn Dash blocks for the Long Time Gone top were completed. 

Steam Punk

Before quilting a quilt for a customer, research is done on line to see what some other quilting motifs have been done on that particular pattern. This one had virtually nothing out there to go by so I'm putting in what I think the design calls for. The customer of this quilt trusts my judgement and gave me carte blanc to put into it. 

I'm delivering another customer quilt in a few minutes and then I'll be coming back to Steam Punk later this morning. Today will probably be much of the same as yesterday since our spring rains are giving me the go ahead to forage on with my studio work; at least for today anyway.  

Whirlwind Weekend

The kids from Lansing came up for a visit on Friday and Saturday, so no studio time for those two days. Yesterday I squirreled and completed this wonderful little toiletries bag for the next time I travel.

Small Project Sunday

And doing this all while there was a snow storm happening outside (see the snow in the background behind the bag?).

It's April, right?

But it's also northern Michigan and this is what we get. I'm not complaining AT ALL! I love the snow and cold days because then I don't feel guilty about not working outside in the yard while I am sewing.

Hazel seemed to perk up over the weekend after all the meds she's currently on. She loves the snow too!

I seem to be feeling better and the snow helps

The vet didn't find anything specific wrong with her after her visit Friday. But we have a direction we're headed in getting this problem of hers rectified. So far, it seems to be working.

Today it's sunny and I'm up early so on to a great sewing day.

Sick Puppy

Hazel has been sick now for over a week. Keeping this short, the vet had us switch her to a boiled beef/chicken/rice diet. Things looked like they were going to straighten out on about Tuesday or Wednesday of this week, so I switched her back to a little kibble mixed in, but still mostly the boiled diet.

Last night and today she is not herself. Kinda of quiet and now has started throwing up (again). Yes, we've eliminated all situations from her environment (remember, I'm a science major and know how to work test reductions). So we head to the vets office this afternoon to try to see what the heck is going on.

I don't feel good mommy

Even her look tells you she isn't her usual perky self.

Yesterday, while keeping an eye on my dogs pooping habits, I completed this quilt for a customer.

Yep, that's me and DW working on a customer quilt

I did another block for my Long Time Gone top.

Stars and Crosses block

And I was Betty Crocker in the kitchen. Exciting day.

The kids are supposed to come visit later today, and may be staying over for the night. I love it when the kids visit. There's life in the house and lots of noise and activity. Just like a home should be.

Sunny Days

Today is not a sunny day. Yesterday was partly sunny. Long arming on a sunny day is preferred. This is mostly what I worked on yesterday until the sun decided to leave.

Getting in those borders

I think the borders set the stage for how the quilt project is going to go. And, the borders are the most difficult and time consuming to get into; at least for me they are. Maybe I'm weird. Wait! I know I'm weird. So this makes sense.

After the sun went away, progress was made on the Selvedge top and the pieces are being picked for the next block in the Long Time Gone top. It's great darkness doesn't settle upon us until later in the evening. In the winter months it seems like 6:00 is so late, but now studio time doesn't stop until around 8:00 or after. Yeah more daylight!

En Route

The Mary Poppins bag kept coming into my thoughts yesterday. Having held off starting this project, I took an inventory of everything en route towards completion. Some of them are just in the beginning stages and some are somewhere in the middle. None of them are near completion.

Here are a few things under construction at the moment. 

Is this really something?

Yes, this is actually something in the beginning stages. Although my enthusiasm for its completion has diminished considerably. It's supposed to be monsters through a class offered on Craftsy but my tendency towards working on it has vastly wained.

On the design wall

These are three projects going at once. The top rows of houses are a pattern by Jenny Doan of MSQC. The blocks to the right are a new pattern called Long Time Gone by Jan Kingwell. Seeing it on Pinterest made me HAVE to do it, and it's chewing through the scrap buckets seen next to the right of the blocks. The bottom "big" thing is a selvedge quilt from the book Modern Selvage Quilting by Riel Nason. 

But wait, there's more...

That Town and Country

This is my long-time project, often referred to in other posts as my BOD; Block of the Day. Although, after it's worked on for a while, it's parked off for something else. I'm on day 183 of 365. It's been two years since I've started. 

And then there's always this...

Long Arming for Customers

It sometimes takes a while for inspiration to hit when a customer quilt comes in. We discuss possibilities when the tops are dropped off, but the actual designs can sometimes swim around in my head for a while. I've had this one now for two weeks and am finally settling on what to actually put into it. I've got to get rolling on it though since I need to deliver it in another two weeks. 

And, these are not all the projects being worked. There are another two under the bookcase (one Bonnie Hunter and one Angela Walters) and one more under the long arm (by Leah Day) which are monthly things being worked on when they come in. It's GREAT to have a variety, but the Mary Poppins bag is still tugging at my head. Although a little less now that I've actually taken an inventory of just how many things I do have in the works.

Dream Big-Again!

Well, this was kind of a mini version of the Dream Big panel by Hoffman Fabrics. This one only measured 22" square, but it was actually more difficult to quilt then the previous 36" square one completed a few months ago.

But it still turned out stunning.

Dream Big

This was done for a customer. It's a gift for her niece, who lives in France to provide some kind of art work for her walls. The piece had five thread changes and it was only done with one layer of wool batt. Normally I would use two, but since the customer asked for just the one, and since it was so small, I didn't think two were necessary. 

I'm debating on whether to delve into another project (I have about seven going right now), or continue on with what I have started in the studio already. It's an overcast, glum looking Monday out the windows and it's screaming for me to start my Mary Poppins bag (a pattern I picked up in San Antonio last week). 

Although my studio is fairly good sized, I'm thinking the room consideration for space is telling me to continue and finish one or more projects before getting into anything else. Which is probably the logical decision. And, of course, I always have long arming to do in the afternoon. 

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back!

Now that Project Quilting is complete, I can blog more often so projects aren't buried within the blogging realm.

After a whirlwind set of trips to first Utah, and then Texas, home is where things will happen for the next couple of months. Nothing is scheduled until July. Of course, that is always subject to change. Life is change isn't it?

A compilation of what's been happening in the studio (it's brief):

Month #4 (I think)

This is the Leah Day Friendship quilt along set of blocks for April. They took three days to complete because I had a sick puppy yesterday.

Hazel the day after her "sick" day

Hazel was sick, sick, sick. Made a mess in her crate over the night (something she has never done before), but we have her on a boiled hamburger/rice diet (per the vet) for the next day or so. She seems to be doing better. And don't you love her summer doo?

That's about all I've accomplished in three weeks. I have a few projects under construction, but nothing of mine completed due to traveling. I did manage to get a few customer quilts under the long arm needle, but neglected to snap pics of those.

Today I have more partial projects to work on, a new customer coming with a Dream Big panel to complete, and lunch with mom. Gotta relish those lunches with mom!