Heck of a Storm

So much for the 3-5 inches they predicted. We received much more than that...and freezing rain on top of it. Isn't Michigan great? 

Debs quilt is done. Linda's quilt has been started (finally); I have half the first row in. Here's what's on DW this morning...

Tina's top

This quilt is getting a double batting put into it. This will make the quilting stand out more and they are using it for an acoustical situation after it's displayed in the shop (Bittersweet) for a while. She wants this quilted whimsically and with lots of thread. No problem!

Here's a little detail of what's going into Linda's quilt...

Lighting is hard at night

We were supposed to have sunny skies all day today, but so far the liar man strikes again. Meh, what do I care? I quilt whether it's sunny, cloudy, stormy (within reason), or whatever nature throws at us that day. 

Post Retreat

I love going to retreats. I guess I should otherwise I shouldn't be going, right? I get so much piecing done and get my current WIPs closer to being finished. Here's what I was able to accomplish...

I started with this one.

This needed blanket stitching, binding, and a hanging sleeve put on. Check. All Done!

This one was next

This was left in block format when I left the retreat back in January. Now it's ready for long arming. 

Puff!

This only had four rows done when I left the retreat in January. It still needs a backing and then to be tied, but it's at least put together. 

For the book worm

This was in pieces when I left the November retreat and found it in the pile. It's now ready for the long arm.

And then I was out of WIP's except for Farm Girl Vintage. I was able to construct five more blocks and now I'm at the half-way point on those. I'll not start anything major until all of them are done. 

It'll be good to get back on the big machines today. I miss both the guys and I think something like a retreat is just the thing needed to recharge batteries. 

I'll be working on Debs and Lindas quilts for today. I'm not expecting any customers; we have a winter storm coming in and should think my day should stay pretty clear. 

A Foot of Snow Later

Jim called off work this morning. Getting into unplowed driveways is not his idea of fun. And he promised to take me up to The Springs this morning. He's out trying to get the snow blower to start and is not having good luck with that. 

One of the quilts I have to do belongs to a person up at The Springs right now and I thought I could quickly get it done to deliver to her this week. 

EPP Wreaths

Alas, what seems like a quick and easy feat turns out to be more than expected. Of course. While I was frame ironing her backing I selected a number of motifs to go into the center of these wreaths and then needed to "try them on" to make sure they would not interfere with the rounded inside portion of the block. After some fiddling, was able to stitch in the first row. 

And then I decided that wasn't enough for the block. I ditched the outside. Nope, still not enough. I ditched the inside. Nope. Still not enough. I then ran a 1/2" channel around the outside. Yep, that was perfect. Now what to do in the borders. A reverse curve did the trick. But then after spending a couple of hours on the first row, knew this was not going to be delivered before she leaves on Friday. 

Finding that "just right" amount of quilting

I may not be blogging for a few days since I'll be in and (mostly) out piecing instead of long arming. 

Still Working Through This Blog Thing

I've racked my brain. I've researched other blog hosting platforms, and the bottom line is I need the kids' help to get the little dots on the left to disappear. They're annoying. But they aren't hurting anything so I'll just have to wait to talk/see them for a fix. 

Here's some quilting detail on the DW quilt...

The 'main' turret in the Beauty and the Beast quilt

I sometimes have a hard time with clamshells. I can't seem to get my head wrapped around how to make them evenly spaced. I took a class one time and remembered I had been given a book on just this subject alone. Reading is good. These turned out beautifully. 

No work on Bernie yesterday. 

Since we have a winter storm on the horizon (it's just starting), I don't think I'll be getting any customer visits today. Jim can't even come home for lunch, so I'm going to quilt and pack all day long to prepare for retreat tomorrow. Since my wrist has been bothering me the past couple of days, I think I need some time doing something else to give it a change and a little rest and the retreat should just be the right ticket. 

Okay...wait...I've figured this out. I got rid of the annoying bullets on the left. Hurray!!!! I do have a brain!

No Electricity (Again)

When our electric goes out, my main computer shuts down. I have to restart it and wait for any updates to take place. Then all my cookies are gone so it has to find everything again. I'm just glad the electricity was only off for about four hours. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here.

Here's what's on DW today...

Beauty and the Beast

This is one of my all time favorite movies. I'm going to have fun quilting this one! 

Here's what's on Bernie today...

Applique and Piecing both!

What a fun one for me to do too. I love these 'not the same throughout' quilts. I don't get bored while quilting them because there's always a lot of thread changes and variations on how they get quilted. 

I have a customer coming to drop off today. Glad she won't have to freeze while she's here now that the furnace is running again. Our little "fireplace" doesn't give off enough heat to do a thing. I hope she comes earlier though because it's starting to snow out there pretty good all of a sudden. 

I've Fiddled With No Luck

I did fiddle with my blog off and on yesterday. I'm not having much luck. Apparently Blogger is an old app and support is getting scarce with it. I'll have one of the boys look at the 'original' layout when/if they ever get up here to see if they can put it back to rights. Meanwhile, we're stuck with this layout until further notice. 

Here's the only thing I did in the studio yesterday...

Want to mix up a cake?

The neighbors are up this weekend. We spent some time down at a very smoky campfire for a few hours yesterday and the constant headache I have is worse today I think because of all the smoke inhalation we dealt with.

I have a customer coming to pick up today. Barbs quits are on their way to Florida. I have to get Jeans quilt off DW, but Bernie is free. I need to load both of them this morning and see where the week takes me. 

New Blog Look

I changed my template for the blog hoping to get rid of that annoying side thing that was going on. Expect more changes in the future as I don't really like the current template. 

Errands yesterday morning. Bernie is free of any quilts right now and DW is going to be unloaded later tonight. I did do this on Bernie yesterday though...

Not the characters, but I long armed the writing

I tried to hand stitch the writing on this. My hand stitching is not good. At all! But I can long arm to beat the band so I did that instead. I'll blanket stitch these later on this week but not today. 

I took a pic of the back of Jeans quilt...which looks almost as good as the front...

It looks better in person

I managed to get a new block cut and pieced for Farm Girl Vintage...

Vrrrooommmm with the hay

They are saying that's hay, but as a farm girl, I know that is NOT hay. Hay is green. This is straw. 

My plans are to work on another FGV2 block today. I tried to find some other small project to work on for small project Sunday, but nothing is really grabbing me. Yet. 

Six Inches of snow later

They said we would get 1-3". I think they were a little off in their estimation.

So what's with the little icons on the left side of my screen the past two days? I imported the crying Sparty in a few days ago and those stupid things showed up after the import. I may end up having to rebuild my blog. I did go into html view and pulled out anything it may be, but we'll see if it shows up again today. 

Here's some of what's going into Jeans quilt...

I love the brick road

Wood flooring

Spooky tree and grass

I'm just past the half-way point on this one. Barbs quilt is getting a little more classical quilting put into it since this one is titled "Old World Santas". I'm matching thread almost perfectly so it's hard to see the quilting in it. 

Since we have all this snow, my customers today have opted for a different day. I'll enjoy the post-storm sunshine and pretty white picture out my windows while working in my snuggly, warm house. 

Errands Before Snow

Snow is (finally) expected this afternoon so I need to quickly head over to Pieces to replenish their brochure supply. 

Let's talk about cutting rulers. I started out as an Omni Grid/Grip user in the earlier days of my quilting journey. Then I started slowly switching to Creative Grids rulers. Some of them are getting pretty dinged up and scratched (I'm very clumsy). I bought a Quilters Select ruler last week at Pieces to assist with my long arm registration lines on tops. 

Have you ever tried Quilters Select rulers? The reason I steered clear of them before is because I thought they looked kinda dingy and the Creative Grids rulers looked more clean. OMG! You have to try one. I'm in love. They grip much better than CG's, you can see the cutting lines easier (which seems counterintuitive given their smoky look) and the markings make more sense to me. I'm hooked. I may have to look at a few more rulers when I'm over at the shop this morning.

Here's what's on DW today...

Jean's Crabapple Hill Witches of Salem

This is the piece I started about a million years ago and here Jean has it all finished. And it's gorgeous! So excited to be able to finish this one for her. I'm kinda jealous actually. Maybe I'll give her back my unfinished pieces and keep this one for myself. 😜

Here's what's on Bernie today...

Barb's Old World Santas

This is Barbs fourth (and last) for me to do. 

I've got both of these basted in and bordered. Mom came by just as I was finishing Jeans borders and she stayed for a visit for a while. By the time she left I was done with long arming for the day. I put this block together instead...

Three skeins of yarn. Red heart of course

I didn't have the energy to cut for another block so I'll maybe get to do that tonight. And off I go...

What is Happening?

The first thing a parent wants to hear is about a shooting at the very college their kids attend. Thankfully, we were pretty much on the phone with the kids when the incident took place. We knew they were safe. But what about all those other students? Parents/Grandparents? Victims and those still fighting for their lives. I'm not sure what's going on out there in the world to cause the [too] many shootings in the U.S.? 

Let's move along to more positive things. Barbs third quilt is done, yet still on the frame. I had to wait for the markings to dissipate before removing it. Bernadettes second quilt is done, but as soon as I finished it I moved over to Barbs quilt. It's still on the frame as well. 

This morning will be removing, trimming, billing, and then folding quilts. 

One of 12

One of the blocks in Barbs quilt I had to share with a little more positivity than what the world is dealing with right now. 

We'll be thinking of those at tonights rock vigil and for those who have a long road ahead healing. 

Heading Out Early

I have to head out early this morning to get those nails done. It's the appointment I was supposed to have Friday but rescheduled.  

Here's what's on DW today...

Bernadettes second top

I got this small piece on between both of Bernadettes quilts...

Bens Little Wallhanging

I moved to Barbs quilt once I got done with Bernadettes first quilt and the little wall hanging for Ben. I'm half-way through that now (I thought I was a few days ago) and will probably focus on that a little more today. 

The pieces for my next FGV2 block were all over the planning table and I was getting all tangled up with them and the tools I use to long arm so I needed to get that done last night...

Goat and birdie

It's sunny again this morning but clouds and then rain later are expected today. Glad it's nice this morning. 

Farm Girl Vintage II

I love doing the Farm Girl blocks. It's not the same thing over, and over, and over again. That's pretty much what I did after long arming on Saturday. Bernadettes quilt is 3/4's done and Jim knocked his day out fairly quickly so he was home most of the afternoon.  

Here's what I did most of the weekend...

Not sure why the apple looks like that in this pic

Yeehaw...work boot

Let's eat!

I have the next block cut out should I get to that sometime this week. Bernadettes quilt should be finished by the end of today. I'll work another row in Barbs quilt and then I have a quick thing to get onto the frame before loading another customer top. We have sunshine this morning. Yay!

RIP Jodie

My customer, who I was cranking out quilting for, who had cancer, lost her battle Friday afternoon. I just got word this morning on my way over to Pieces. I'm very saddened about this news. While death is a part of our world, it still makes me somber and thoughtful about the days we have left. Make each day count. Ya just never know. 

Here's some of what's going into Bernadette's first top...

Loving the clean look

Her quilts are always so well done, and I'm giving it a light bit of ruler work and free motion to not detract from the original design. 

Jim is home! He came home last night, but is working locally instead. Which is okay. As long as he's not two plus hours away. I ran to Pieces this morning to pick up a different ruler to use for marking the quilt tops (long story), and a few other fun things; a panel to do later and a small wall hanging for Ben, who loves duct tape. I'll work on that maybe tomorrow.

Since Jim is working today, I shall as well. The sun is currently shining (that's supposed to change later on) and the wind is supposed to come up so I'll take advantage of long arm time while I can. Barbs third quilt and Bernadettes first quilt are both almost half way complete. 

Apparently it's a Weird Week

Apps, Aura, and weather all acting very strange this week. Thankfully, the long arms are not. They are behaving very well. 

Here's what's on DW this morning...

Bernadette's Halloween Whimsy

Before you judge me, I received this AFTER last Halloween, so I'm not that far behind on tops. I'll probably work this most of today and maybe throughout the weekend. I'm going to do some ruler work and custom spiderwebs in the borders.

I worked on Barbs quilt last night after finishing Martha's and have the first row in. A lot of starts and stops in the hand embroidered area. 

Here's what I put into Martha's quilt yesterday...

A large open swirl

It looks great on both the back and the front of the quilt; remember, this is a two sided quilt so I needed something generic to make both sides look good. No, that is not computerized. I drove entirely. 

The sun is trying to peek out, but we had freezing rain, blustery winds, and a light dusting of snow last night. The area schools are closed because there is a nice sheen of ice all over the roads. And everything else. I rescheduled my nail appointment this morning because I was stressing about having to go out in this. 

Apps Acting Weird

Our Aura frame was down yesterday and said it had lost a connection and tried to reboot all day. I finally unplugged it and restarted it. All seems fine today. This morning, my IG account was jumping all over the place and now my blogging site had me logged out (which I never do) and wanted me to build a new blogging site. What is going on out there?

Here's what's on DW this morning...

Martha's top (and bottom)

This is a two-sided quilt so I have to be extra vigilant when advancing with each roll to make sure everything stays pretty lined up. You can't really tell, but there are a bunch of sheep in here so I think just an open swirl might be nice to mimic wool. 

I got started on Barbs quilt yesterday and have the first three borders in. Karen's quilt is done but not without a LOT of challenges. Here's one of them...

That's the border bunching the batting, not the other way around

But after some discussion with the top and with DW, we got it done. Here's a little detail of what was put into this cute Under the Sea Sue Spargo piece...

It doesn't look like much but very time consuming

We have a freezing rain coming down right now and it's likely to rain all day. Like I texted Jim this morning it's a good day to crank up the heat, the tunes, and DW. 

Way too Early

When I went out this morning to clean the girls' pen, it smelled like spring was in the air. Too early!

At least it's sunny out there and it'll make for a cheery workday today. Here's what's on DW this morning...

Sue Spargo "Under the Sea" 

Notice they border blocks. This one is going to be a challenge. I like challenges (thank goodness).

Here's what's on Bernie this morning...

Barbs Snow Girls

Each of these has some kind of sewing saying in them. It's going to be fun to quilt out. 

Yesterday, DW and I did this piece...

Jodie's fourth quilt

I followed the checkers in the background and ran a single stemmed feather around the outside. I finished her second quilt on Bernie as well and so will need to contact her about them all being finished later today. 

Bustin' Fanny

It's funny how I revert back into second shift mode when Jim is not here. I was in the studio until after 9:30 last night and I still had some steam left in me. But, my back and knees were telling me it was enough and I still had a good hour to go on Jodies second quilt, so decided to call it. 

Here's some of the detail in her third quilt...

A nice hook-swirl

This one (above) is still on the frame. I immediately moved from this one to the one on Bernie because I got another call from a customer about a quilt she dropped off about a month ago that needed to be brought forward in the queue. Ugh!

When it rains...

Working on Sunday

I don't generally do any 'customer' stuff on Sunday. It's my only day to do my stuff and spend time with Jim since we run so much during the rest of the week. But, with him leaving yesterday afternoon to work downstate, I did actually do real work in the studio.  

Here's what's on DW this morning...

Jodie's third quilt...Shadow Box

This is getting an edge-to-edge treatment, but once again, I'm driving. I'm thinking some hook swirls would look nice in here with maybe a grey or green thread. 

I did manage to get some small things done. Here's two FGV2 blocks I completed while Jodies back was being frame ironed...

You think my tractor's sexy...

What's a quilt without a star block?

I have the next block all cut out and ready to go for whenever I can construct another one. I'm expecting two customers today; one to pick up and one to drop off. 

I'll be chipping away at the quilt on DW until after hours and then I'll be working on the one on Bernie (it takes a lot of concentration) once customers are done coming and going. 

BOM's

Pieces of Thyme is offering a block of the month beginning in March. My Cotton Cuts BOM is already on month seven (out of 10) so I'm thinking the one at Pieces would be fun. 

I opted to not do Build-a-Quilt with Angela Walters this year; I wasn't really all about the color choices this go-around. My Call Me Crazy is on hold and that's a block of the week situation anyway. I don't have a sewing machine permanently set up to work those blocks and quite frankly, I'm really not all that into it now that I've made three. 

Here's some texture candy on Jodie's first finished quilt...

This turned out pretty cool!

I worked on her second quilt for a little while yesterday afternoon, but after putting in five hours total (on what should only be a two hour day) was enough. 

I made a FGV2 block yesterday...

Caawww, caawww

Stupid crows. We have a plethora of them around here, and I've recently learned, they will terrorize our Eagle. Crow season opens in March. 

It's Small Project Sunday and I'm going to work on my Cotton Cuts BOM that arrived in the mail this week. I hope to make a tractor on the FGV2 piece and after those are done, who knows? Jim is leaving this afternoon to work downstate for the week. Maybe I'll put on some soft music, put a 'fake' fire on the TV and just relax and read the rest of the day. Or...sew. 

I Had A Thought

I'm trying to figure out a way to set a camera onto the long arm so folks can see me quilting throughout the day. I've 'talked' to a number of folks to see how this is best accomplished. It's just a thought and I know that when I watch others quilt it's kind of soothing and mesmerizing at the same time; like looking at the flames around a campfire. 

Most of yesterday was working on Jodie's first quilt (the one on DW). Here's what's going into it...

Can you even see the straight-line quilting in the blocks?

I would have gotten more done, but had a [new] customer call and asked if she could bring over a top. That makes eight quilt tops in two days. 

I didn't work on Bernie at all yesterday, but did come up with some drawings on the iPad for some ideas on the Drunkards Path blocks in Jodie's second quilt. But here's what I've have into both the borders so far from the previous night...

Love the texture!

Last night was errand night. We're preparing for Jim to leave for a week and took advantage of a good stopping point in my work. The Spartans play today so I'll be in the studio most of the afternoon. 

Happy Friday

Jim is off being on-call. But, he's headed downstate on Sunday afternoon and will be working there for a week. I don't know which is the better of the two. 

I have plenty of things to keep me busy around here. Seven new tops came in yesterday. Four of them are for my hospice girl who are extremely time sensitive. Of course. 

Here's what's on DW today...

A very soothing top for sure

Funny story about the backing for the top above. I started loading it onto Bernie, but then re-read the work order and knew using the channel locks/computer on DW would be easier for the straight lines going into those stacked pieces. Unload. Reload onto DW. Except I reloaded the back 90 degrees the wrong way. Unload again. Reload. Now I think we have it right.

Here's what's on Bernie this morning...

Dragonflies flitting around the studio

I love this top! I was so excited to start working on it and I actually did a little bit last night once I got the backings all frame ironed. Both are basted in and ready for me to tear into this morning, but I have to place a thread order first. 

And that's going up as well. Can't we just skip this upcoming recession and move along onto better things?

Sunny Customer Day

I have several customers coming today. One to pick up, two to drop off, and one that, thankfully, rectified her thread situation and doesn't need to come over. Not that I don't welcome her, it was just a quick thread fix and she doesn't need to waste the trip over.

Pat's second quilt is done. It's still on the frame, but that's first on my to-do list this morning. It was dicey about whether the thread we had chose would be enough to finish it. Here's where it was when I shut DW down...

Not much left on there

Barbs quilt is nearly done. I have two blocks and the remaining border to do. I'll chip away at it between people today. That's the nice thing about Bernie in that I can put him into a kind of sleep mode and with a quick push of the button, can wake him up easily enough.

I did get another block done in FGV2 last night...

Just a blocky block called cross stitch

The sun is shining again today (this makes three days in a row). Having customers coming by will be an extra treat. 

Calls and Deliveries

When I order batting from my supplier they have, in the past, sent it via USPS. I've received notes in the mailbox that 'the item is too big to fit into box' and it's no wonder...

How the batting arrives

Our road hadn't been plowed until yesterday because the [now] UPS guy said he wanted to deliver this yesterday but couldn't risk coming down our road. The batting company is charging me a delivery charge (it used to be free) but I'll pay the extra to get it here via UPS because our mail guy isn't too bright.

Pats second quilt is almost done. It was 7:30 when I called it. I have another hour and a half (at least) of work to do on it and that would have put me in there until well after 9:00. I think 10 hours is enough for one day.

Needless to say, Barbs quilt didn't get worked on at all.

I received a text from a 'regular' customer of mine about a thread situation into the quilt I just did for her. She's coming over Thursday to take care of that. 

I had a new customer call and she'll be over today after 1:30. 

I had another guy call who wanted me to finish three quilts he just purchased at an estate sale. They needed hand quilting so I'm trying to find the Amish lady that does Ruths hand quilting west of town. 

And, one of my new regular customers called after hours yesterday. Hospice has been called and she needs to get some quilts done before...

Cherish every day you can just because.