Progress

After meeting with a customer yesterday to pick up her quilt, I was able to load and start the t-shirt quilt for Joanne. This one is going to be a challenge as it has no lining on the t-shirts and they aren't behaving very well. 

After working on that top for most of the day, the evening found me making, pressing, and trimming the corner triangles for the Stack and Whack Kaleidoscope top. I have all the squares made now and just need to start joining into rows.

Stack and Whack Kaleidoscope blocks

Mom is coming over today and working on her change of address stuff. The kaleidoscope blocks are right up her color alley and I'll see if she likes it. If not, maybe this will be the next DeGroot reunion quilt? 

Since mom is coming over today, I'm not sure how much progress I'll make in the studio. Her visits vary in length and sometimes we end up taking off for whatever we find interesting to do. 

Hurdles

It wasn't hurdles so much we had this weekend, just lots of away-from-the-house time. Saturday was a complete wash. On the road and downstate all day long. 

I did manage to get three backings from The Hen House while downstate. We were actually there during normal business hours to be able to shop a little and catch up with old friends. 

Yesterday was a recharge afternoon. Errands and shopping in the morning. But I did manage to get another little bit of sewing in before leaving; working on the Stack and Whack Kaleidoscope top. 

In our travels this weekend, I had two [more] people ask about the long arm and what exactly it is that I do. Since DW is currently naked, thought I'd grab a pic of him to show how big he is to better explain to folks the machine I sling around for hours.

A good pic of DW naked

One of the kaleidoscope blocks 

This morning customers are coming to pick up (Sue L.) and then I'll have the rest of the day to work on DW and get rid of his naked-dittity. :-)

Day Three

The quilt being worked should have been done yesterday. But alas, again today it will be worked. (See yesterdays blog about what it is that's on the frame). 

I ran into a little bit of an issue though. The batting is poking through the backing. I solicited the help of my fellow AIQ folks and everything they suggested I had already tried. I called HQ. They suggested the backing is of poor quality and once the quilt is removed from the frame, give it some heavy duty shakes and the batting should pull back in. 

I sure hope so.

After reversing the batting

The original batting side

Reversing the batting didn't make a difference. As suggested by Nick. Replacing the needle, adjusting tension on the backing and the thread also didn't help. Changing needle size isn't an option since DW will only NOT skip stitches with a larger needle. I hope the HQ fix works once it's off the frame today. 

There was also a forum group out there asking the same question I had about this issue, and apparently it's a common situation (although I haven't had it happen all that much). Quilts that go to the big shows even show up with this problem, so I'm not going to stress about it all that much more. 

Busy Day

I have a busy day coming up today. Mickey is coming to pick up her Sun Bonnet Sue that was completed yesterday afternoon. JoAnn and Mary Jean are coming from downstate to bring a t-shirt quilt for me to quilt. I have nails at noon.

Mickey's Sun Bonnet Sues

Maybe I can long arm after lunch. 

This is what's on the frame this morning. 

Sue's top

Here is some of the detail being put into it.

Quilting detail of Sue's top

This quilt needs to be done by Friday morning. I don't know if I'm going to make it. I'll have to wait and see what this afternoon brings, but the hardest part is done.

When I load a quilt, I have an idea in my head about what I want to put into it, as well as the discussion I had with the customer at the time of drop off. But sometimes that changes after getting closer to it during the loading process.

The hardest part of quilting is getting the motifs decided and placed into their respective locations. This top, while simple looking, actually has a lot of spaces to decide on what to do. I didn't want to do an E2E. There was too much negative space for me to consciously do that. 

Each section was dissected and then motifs were decided upon based on balance, continuity, and top design. But now I've arrived at the decisions needed to get rolling and can concentrate on doing what it is I do everyday once I get back this afternoon. Maybe things will go faster once I get the tunes jamming and the machine all fired up.

Good Discussions

Our lake has been lowered because of the flooding that occurred two months ago. We have a 41 foot "beach" now and a lot of baby trees occupying the new situation. Not to mention weeds and other undesirable things growing. After talking to our township supervisor for 45 minutes this morning, learned that we are indeed, supposed to get our lake back. Sometime. But that's good news that was worth the extra time.

Meanwhile, I'm behind schedule, but here's what happened yesterday. 

Mickey's Sunbonnet Sues

I have half of Mickey's quilt completed. Hopefully I'll get that finished today. I worked on my scrappy stars for one of the new tops I'm constructing, and then moved along to working on this new mask.

Go Green! Go White!

It doesn't look like the masks are going away anytime soon, so I made one that really counts.

After the mask, I started drafting the paper piece templates for the next row in the Sugaridoo quilt along. Each row is different and this one is foundation paper piecing. 

I've noticed pictures haven't been as forthcoming as per the usual. Not sure why? Maybe because life seems to be going by faster than normal. I have plenty of things I should be showing and need to get better about snapping my progress on "film". 

Getting Sewing In When I Can

After reunion, Jim booked a crapload of appointments for us last week. I had to tuck some piecing in whenever I could, but didn't get long enough stretches in to do any long arming. Today is mow day, so I'm hoping to get some long arming in before I jump on the mower this afternoon.

We were able to get this new sewing table erected during the week for my little HQ Stitch machine. The machine has been named Lilo and didn't Ben do a wonderful job making it?

Lilo's new table

Ben is my middle son, who when called upon, does projects like this for mom, despite having three kiddos under the age of four, one of which is a newborn. 

 

Reunion Finished

Now that we are once again through a DeGroot reunion, work should resume per the usual. Although, lately, the usual has been rather unusual. 

Prior to our reunion weekend, I was able to complete this quilt for Nanci. 

Nanci's Family Tree

This week is starting our pretty busy too. Monday was Hazel grooming, electrician rewiring for DW, and reunion clean up, as well as yard clean up since we'd neglected it for over a week; mowing, weeding, watering. Yesterday was wash all the bedding and missed items from Monday, as well as put away day.

In the later morning and afternoon I was working on my LLC paperwork. I have my EIN number now, my LLC confirmation paperwork is being sent back to the state, and now I'm looking for a logo. Again. I found a sign company in Flint I think I want to work with and made some zucchini muffins since ours are coming on now.

Today maybe I'll get to work in the studio. It's cloudy and looks like we could get some rain; permission to sew in other words. I need to take advantage of today because tomorrow is again, another appointment day. Dr.'s appointment first thing in the morning and a dentist appointment for Jim in the afternoon down in Howell. 

Good Intentions, Bad News

If you read my post yesterday, intentions were high for a productive day. Then, after checking the DeGroot Reunion Facebook page, received an IM from a high school and dear friend. 

There were about five or six of us who hung around together in high school. Back then, I didn't get along with girls very well, so I was the only girl in the group. There was Steve, Tom, Kevin, Doug, Chris, and myself. Doug was the one that contacted me to let me know Chris had passed away last week. WHAT? I'm JUST hearing about this? And then Doug tells me his wife passed in January. 

Because Facebook is a vortex of time sucker, I rarely go out there. I find myself squirreling way too much and waste valuable studio time playing on the stupid app. So I avoid it until the need arrives. Apparently, I need to start visiting the sight more than I have in the past.

So the morning was shot. And, just when I was getting into my afternoon groove, Jim needed to be picked up at work to get his truck from the repair shop. Again. 

I tried to long arm after I got back home, but then two of my customers came and picked up their quilts. And stayed to chat for a little bit. Yep, not very productive yesterday.

So, this morning,  I'm again working on the deer panel top for Pat and will hopefully get it done. And today is another interruption day. Mom is coming over later this morning, Doug is coming over this afternoon to get some much needed hugs (he happened to be in the area when he IM'd me yesterday and we figured while he was up here, he needed to visit). And Jim is taking the afternoon off and has tomorrow off as well.

I warned him that I would need to work tomorrow since yesterday and probably today will be a bust. He understands and has work around here to do anyway, so we'll just work apart together at the house. 

Goals and Aspirations

I currently have two quilts in queue right now. My goal is to get those completed before starting to pack for the DeGroot Reunion...which is next weekend. This one will be worked today.

Pats gift quilt

Prior to getting this loaded last night, I long armed this quilt.

Joanies quilt

This is for a first birthday too. 

Once Pats quilt was loaded, I had pretty much been on the long arm eight hours yesterday and decided the fabric bundle and book I purchased at the Pieces of Thyme sidewalk sale last week needed to be dug into. 

I'm just starting to prep and make the first set of blocks for a quilt top I'm going to call Star Bright. This is from the book titled Stash-Buster Quilts by Lynne Edwards.

The copyright on the book is 2006, but for some reason, Pieces still had a copy of it. And how I didn't have it in my library was puzzling since I usually get any stash-type of book out there. There are a number of tops I'll be making out of the book, most of which can utilize the stash I have around here. But this particular top I wanted to make very bright and consistent so I am using a large fat quarter bundle (35) for its construction.