Sick Day

I don't take very many of them, but today I'm feeling very weak, short of breath, and my head is full of yuck. I feel like I have a cold on top of my cold.  I'll be resting, drinking plenty of fluids and just being quiet. Running around the long arm machine is not in the cards nor is being out in the studio.

Here's some more quilting that Janices top is receiving...

Another feather border version

Good thing I have a lot of books downloaded onto my iPad because I'll be reading and sleeping most of the day. 

Starting a Quilt is the Hardest

When I first start a quilt for a customer it's the hardest part. I have to think through how all the motifs will flow. How the quilt is constructed. What's the fabric in the quilt? How does the pattern work throughout the quilt? 

Once I get started, it's a much quicker situation. Here's some of the quilting going into Janice's quilt...

Getting things rolling

Since this quilt is basically a "border" quilt, I still have a lot of thinking to do, but at least I'm started.

After working on DW, I moved over to Foster to do another pass on Timber. Only one more to go. After working on that pass I then completed the grapefruit in Produce Section...

Pucker power with grapefruits!

More on Janices quilt today. 

Difficult Blocks

Some quilts have more difficult blocks than others. The Produce Section is one of those quilt tops which has a few blocks and then some pretty difficult ones come into the picture. These are not paper pieced so the accuracy is even more crucial when stitching them together. 

I have the grapefruits about half-way complete...

They look easy enough, right?

At any case, I hope to finish those this evening. It's going to be a wet and very dark day today. Rain expected all day as our temps rose during the night (high 30's). Most of our snow will be gone by days end I'm afraid. Not very Christmas-y. 

I'll be working on Janice's quilt on DW most of today. I'm still frame ironing the back on Bernie for Anns next top and will keep working on that throughout my time in the studio. 

Cooking and Piecing

That's about all I did yesterday was cook in the morning. I spent the afternoon working on the lemons. I also decorated the gingerbread house while waiting for Jim to come home from work. I did get a little long arming in on Foster, but not much. 

When life gives you lemons...

A happy place

Today I'm going to work on the Produce Section blocks while Jim is out working on Christmas gifts. 

Already Busy

Jim's birthday is next week and his present (combined with Christmas) was a new iPad. I had to get that set up first thing this morning all while making rice, doing regular morning chores, and ordering some Christmas gifts (along with a new iPad case). I'm now browning turkey for chili and enchiladas for this weekend. 

Here's what's on DW for next week...

Janice's huge beautiful top

I'm frame ironing for Bernie right now so no pics there. Not much else going on. Jim came home early from work and we did all the running around things we needed to do. He's working today, and obviously, I'm in the kitchen most of the morning so don't know if I'll get into the studio until much later today. 

Last Christmas Quilt

I worked past business hours yesterday to get Dianes quilt finished. Here's some of the quilting that went into it...

Lines everywhere

I still need to trim and call her, but it's finished nonetheless. Janice's batting arrived late yesterday afternoon so I'll be loading and starting that one once I return from nails this morning. I haven't been over to Pieces in a while, so maybe I'll take a trip over there?

But my cold is now in full force: Snotty nose, coughing, sneezing, etc. All the fun traits of a winter cold that try to pull ya down. I don't want to share this lovely event with [older] other customers/staff. 

Advil Cold and Sinus will be my friend today.

I cut and started to piece the next batch of fruit in Produce Section, but this one is pretty intense so didn't get it finished before running out of steam. 

No customers expected today. It'll be quiet and now that the last Christmas quilt is completed, less stressful. Happy Friday. 

Wild Night

The wind and snow last night was just crazy. Jim and I were up and down through most of the night. I remember coming downstairs at 3:45 to see if the door out to the deck had opened up because the furnace just kept running. Jim slept downstairs since he doesn't want to get my sickies and he was awake when I came down.

Thankfully, the winds have subsided a bit, but they are still pretty stiff.

Diane's quilt did not get done yesterday. I had a customer call and want to come and pick up her quilt. She brought a friend and we chatted the better part of an hour. Or more.

Hopefully today it'll be completed. Meanwhile, while the furnace runs in the studio I cut for the next Produce Section block and took off the short backed quilt on Foster to fix that situation. It's back on the machine now and the plums are complete... 

Do you see anything wrong here?

One of the plums are in the incorrect orientation. I'm going to leave it because who wants to follow the rules? If, when it's put into the quilt it's a problem, I may fix it then. 

Customer already here this morning (which is why I'm blogging late) to drop off, but nobody else expected so I should be able to focus a little bit more on Dianes piece. Maybe. I'm pretty foggy/tired from the lack of sleep and with this darn cold I have but I'll just take my time and enjoy the process. 

Oops!

Apparently I wasn't wearing my math hat the day I made the backing for the Lumberjack quilt because after taking another roll last night... 

Ummm...we have a problem

This is definitely fixable, but frustrating too. I'll have to unload this beast, attach more backing and then reload. The reload is the hard part because all the weight of the quilt is fighting against you. Jim will have to help me out to ease the stress level.

I worked all day on Diane's quilt, but while the furnace was running, cut out the pieces for the next block in Produce Section. Once I was done on Bernie and Foster for the night I was able to cut the last little bit and then pieced the watermelons...

These turned out so darn cute

Actually, all the fruits are turning out cute as hell. After closing the studio down for the day, I snagged a pic of the house all lit up since Jim ran the last of the lights last night before he headed out to his studio to work on Christmas gifts...

Happy Holidays from our house to yours

All we need now is snow, which we got last night after taking the pic, but it won't stay since temps are going to be above freezing this afternoon and it was only about a half inch that we did get. 

Dianes quilt is my main focus today. I'm coming down with a cold (of course) so I'm going to press on before this stupid virus gets any worse. Maybe it'll be a light one this time through? 

Lost Phone

I left my personal phone at moms house on Sunday so I was kind of lost without it yesterday. I don't generally get it out when we are there for this very reason. Too many other things to gather and do while we are there. 

Linda's three quilts are done and picked up already. The last Christmas quilt is going to be worked today and tomorrow and then I can take a deep breath and get back to tops that were dropped off over the summer.

While DW was stitching out yesterday not only did I work on Dianes quilt, but I got the last two borders onto the BOM from Sew Very Easy and made the next fruit in Produce Section...

Mangos

Once our customers left (they stayed late) Jim and I started in on the tree. It's all decorated. But it needs some presents underneath it. Time to start wrapping! 

Trees Up

After a few errands yesterday, we finally arrived back home at lunch time. We selected a 12' tree from our usual tree grower and she's up and lit as of this morning. We still have to get the ornaments and the rest of the decorations put on it, but at least it's there for us to chip away at.

A big one this year

While Jim was waiting for the snow to melt and dry up from the tree, he watched his Spartan basketball game. I put together the BOM from Sew Very Easy and only have the borders to attach to call it a win. 

But, alas, we need to go in and deal with some mom stuff which is where we are headed to this morning. 

Not Always As Planned

I had every intention of getting the body of the quilt on DW stitched out yesterday morning. I set up the area, parked in the motif, did some adjustments and pushed 'quilt'. It took some tack stitches and then started ghost stitching.

This was my morning. After restarting the Pro Stitcher a few times and fiddling with some settings within the program I was experiencing the same results. I called Handi Quilter. 

Apparently my very new tablet needed both a Microsoft update as well as a PS update. While that was working, customer number one showed up.

She left, I ate lunch and then at that point, received a phone call that customer number two was on her way from Midland. I didn't want to get into anything big, so I started plugging away at the crochet bag I started down in Shipshewana.

She finally arrived and stood and talked for a while. When she left I continued on with my crochet bag(s) project. I received a call about an hour later that a quilt I had been holding since July was finally being picked up. She arrived well past 4:00, but at least it finally found its home.

Here's the three bags I completed during the day.

Aren't these so stinkin' cute?

Since I hadn't long armed (at all) yesterday, I jumped on Foster to get my daily long arm fix in. After a pass I shut him down and moved over to working on Produce Section...

Orange you glad you're here?

These oranges turned out almost perfect. Elizabeth Hartman writes nearly perfect patterns. I have found a few minor things I'd like for her to do in her patterns that would benefit a beginner quilt maker, but I can figure things out with my years of experience.

Getting the tree today and running to Midland to do a little shopping. It's snowing pretty good out there, but Jim's driving and I won't worry about the nearly bald tires we have to replace on the truck as he's a professional. 

One More

I have completed one more holiday quilt and some little boy is going to enjoy the dragon quilt(s) I've completed the past two days...

Lot's of flames going into the quilting

While I was frame ironing for the next up on DW...

The next one of Linda's

I was working on the raspberries for Produce Section and putting the borders on Bee Happy (which is now complete btw). And, while doing all of that, I was talking to a long lost childhood friend on the phone for nearly two hours. But here are the raspberries...

I love raspberries

Aren't these just the cutest? I'll be working on the Linda quilt above most of today while taking care of two different customer visits scheduled for this morning. One to drop off and the other to pick up and drop off both. 

Did I mention I've picked up crocheting (again)? Now I have something productive to do at night when I shut down the studio instead of playing time-wasting games on my iPad. Those games sure suck you in and I wasn't liking the direction that was going. Happy Friday. Stay warm out there if you're anywhere in Michigan. 

Snow Day

All the schools in Michigan are closed today. Except Olivet downstate. Jim is still home and it's not because of the three to four inches of snow we received overnight, but the freezing rain we received the three hours preceding the snow. It's a glare of ice underneath all that snow. And his truck is stuck next to the White Pine because he didn't dare pull down that tiny little grade towards the house when he got home yesterday afternoon for fear of gliding off down the steeper hill towards the lake. 

He's out shoveling. I think the customer I'm expecting later won't be here, but she hasn't called yet, so who knows? 

The first snow

Linda's first dragon quilt is done...

Putting flames into the dragon quilts

Number two is on the frame and ready for quilting this morning...

The second one

While I was frame ironing this back, the first quilt had its binding attached and I worked a little on Dianes quilt on Bernie.

Once I was prepped and ready for todays work, I fiddled on Foster for a pass and then after rolling for another, shut Foster down and started cutting and piecing the next set of fruits in Produce Section. I called it quits at around 7:00 last night as I was tired and had a customer come to pick up yesterday meaning I was "live" for part of the day.

More Pro Stitcher work today on dragon number two and then I'll see where I go from there. 

Routine

Our dogs are very routine based. I always know what time it is at night because Hazel has to go out at 9:00 every evening. She'll just sit and stare at you until you let her out at that time. I get it. I like routine during my regular business hours. I like being in the studio at 10:00 so that I'm ready for whatever customer situations present themselves. The past two weeks have severely disrupted my routine and I felt way out of sorts because of it. 

Today, it's back to the regular routine and wow am I much happier.

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

One of Two

This quilt, and the next one nearly identical to it are the last of the Christmas quilts I have to complete. I knew these were coming in but started loading Janice's back anyway. I had to pull that off and I'll work these two over the next few days to get them ready for binding, which I'm also doing for the customer.

Once Linda and Rick left, and I started frame ironing for the one above, I cut and then pieced the next set of fruits in Produce Section...

Peachy

These are actually peaches, but are a bit distorted until they actually get into the quilt. I loaded the first dragon quilt top after these were pieced and set the quilting parameters so all I have to do is turn on DW and get things lined up. I'll be ready to roll after that quick bit. 

Winter "storm" expected today. We received a dusting of snow over night and more is expected later this afternoon. The winds are howling out there, but I don't think we'll get a whole lot more snow since this thing seems to be a fast mover. At any case, it's a good day to stay inside and just quilt, quilt, quilt! 

Last Day

This should be my last hectic day (for a while) running around for post-surgical/heart-related/doctor appointment crap. I just need to stay here and work people. On the plus side, moms foot is healing well and my eye sight is also doing fine. Dentist and pharmacy first thing this morning and then off to moms to do her bedding/other laundry stuff. 

I have customers coming later this afternoon for pick up. When I finally got home yesterday (late afternoon) I hadn't even eaten yet so after wolfing down a quick lunch I headed to the studio. I miss spending the day in there!

I've off loaded Debs quilt and after building the back for Janice D's next one on DW, started frame ironing that. Meanwhile, I did some quilting on Foster just to get a little bit of a long arm fix in there...

Running like a champ!

Before I leave today I'm hoping to get Janice's back finished while working a little bit on Diane's Gnomey Stars top. 

No snow today (yay) but tomorrow we are expecting some so it'll start looking a little more festive. 

Isn't Parenting Great?

Parenting is a love language all of its own. Whether your children are young, or grown adults, parenting never ends. Grandparenting is a whole other ball of yarn and when taking care of the grandkids, boundaries have to be met and set both. 

While the grandkids were on their way back home with Jim, I was able to stay here and work. I finished Debs quilt, worked a little on Dianes and then helped Jim get Foster back into his rightful place in the studio when he returned. 

From L to R: Jacob, Zechy, Elijah and Hannah

Here's what's on Foster already...

Timber!

After I worked on this for a bit to see how Foster was running, I started in on the cherries for Produce Section...

They look really dark here in this pic.

Off to moms doctor appointment.

Cheaper is not Always Better and Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Ya know, I've noticed a few of my what used to be customers not returning to me for quilting services. Which is fine. I know people move, leave this earth, or find somebody who was less expensive.

Story time.

My middle son, Ben, is a DM for a very large landscaping/snow removal company in the Lansing and Grand Rapids area. They lost an account last year to a competitor for what they can only perceive as a less expensive amount. The customer called earlier this week (even though commitments are already made for this upcoming snow season) to have Snelling come back. Snelling is the company Ben works for. They didn't get the service they were used to with Snelling and were disappointed in some of the other issues they had with the "new" company.

Less is often times not more.

I am passionate about what I do and I try to make it as right as I can. I ask questions when a top is dropped off to get the most out of whatever expectations the customer has as the end result. I get customer reactions when a finished quilt is picked up and try to gauge whether they are truly in love with what I did.

Just because somebody is less expensive may not always fit what is needed or even wanted. But that's business, and I get it. I can't be the end all-be all here, but it would be nice if honesty was presented to me in why you've left me as your long armer other than moving, death, or expense. I had one customer blatantly ignore me in a quilt shop because she had stopped coming to me earlier this year. I found out why two days ago by another customer in a round about way. Sadly, at our January retreat, she will not give me the real reason why she's stopped having me do her quilts, but I now know the truth.

Enough of story time. I worked on Debs quilt a bit yesterday morning. None on Dianes. The afternoon was spent in the kitchen and in the evening we were back to fetch mom from the hospital for another A-fib situation. I did get these put together somewhere in there...

Pears!

I'm loving this Produce Section quilt! Each of the four blocks are entirely different and I don't feel like I'm assembly line piecing. Or cutting.

May, or May Not

I may, or may not be quilting today. I've started cleaning the house and find that I've neglected it a bit too long. And, I have to get ready for the kids/grandkids to come up possibly tonight, but at least tomorrow and beyond. And then there's a huge meal to prepare.

And any rate, here's what I'm working on Bernie...

Dianes Gnomy Stars

While I was working that (which is custom), this was stitching out...

Nancy's Marine Biology top

I put meandering water throughout. Had a bit of a sticky situation on the bottom where the back was too short. I didn't complete the last pass and will have to talk to her about it next week when they come to fetch.

This is now on DW...

Deb K.'s Wedding Present

This is a large quilt and I don't think I'll have time to get through it today, so I'll baste it in this morning and get it prepped for quilting next week. Monday is shot (mom doctor appointment and me as well). The sun is shining and it's a great day to work around the house. 

After working all of this stuff, I was actually, able to build the next set of blocks in Produce Section...

Banana

Happy Thanksgiving eve!

Cranking Out Christmas

While I'm working on Christmas quilts this week, I'm listening to Christmas music. Sometimes. It just seems not right to be yet into the Christmas holiday until we give thanks on Thursday. Seriously. It's so overlooked and we have everything to be thankful for. We're not in a war. People can eat. People can find shelter if they seek it out. I'm thankful for every day I step foot out of bed and into my beautiful studio.

Here's some of the quilting that went into Sue S.'s quilt yesterday...

Using the Crop Outside feature

She wanted very light and loose quilting into this top so this is about all that went into it.

The next quilt went onto DW around late afternoon...

Another Michigan Shop Hop 2024 top

Ann didn't want custom into this one, so it received sailboats and sunshines throughout. Again, light quilting was requested.

This is on DW this morning...

For a marine biologist hopeful

This is getting undulating waves to mimic calm waters. DW sure is getting a workout this week. I'm loading a back onto Bernie during all of this quilting and will start with some custom work once that's done and the rest of the holiday quilts are tackled. I have a few more to do but most are E2E projects that don't take a quarter of the time a custom piece requires. 

Once I was through messing around on DW (eight hours later), I started piecing the strawberries on the Produce Section top. 

Sorry for the plastic bag

You get the idea. Happy logistical Friday! 

It's Thursday, Right?

Well, for me it is. Logistically. Eavestrough guy is here first thing this morning completing phase II of our eaves situation and while he's doing his thing, I'll be working Sue S.'s quilt on DW...

Very Large Top!

This is getting a combination of custom with E2E (by block) and variety is the spice of life, isn't it?

Not much else to report. I worked this yesterday morning and then we had to run to Mt. Pleasant for more lights and odds and ends. That pretty much shot the rest of the day but it was nice to take a little breather. 

Logistically My Wednesday

It's a wonder I don't get much done during the week with all the distractions from owning a small business. During the weekend focus can stay on the task(s) at hand and much more gets accomplished. Because of the previous couple of weeks, and the upcoming holiday week[end], today is my Wednesday. I'm working a full day minus one movie at lunch.

Elleens quilt was finished just before lunch yesterday and what I'm working on DW today can't be uploaded right now; update on the phone at the moment. But Jim has been working on these...

Hanging the Christmas lights

He's out hunting this morning since the winds have calmed a bit so off I go to play in the best studio in the world! 😙

Working Late

Because I had nails yesterday morning, and because Jim took the day off, we headed to Midland to pick up Turkey Day stuff. Jim treated me to lunch and then, after taking care of the groceries, I headed to the studio. That was around 2:00. I got out of there at about 9:50 last night. 

I'll be right back at it this morning once I get done here because Elleens quilt isn't done yet.

Let's talk about "light custom" versus "show custom" quilting. What Elleen wanted me to put into this quilt is show custom work. I need to educate folks about the difference. This has to be marked first, and then stitched out and each quilt block is individually done. It requires creativity and brain power. 

Marking the quilt before stitching out

I did get Bernadettes quilt stitched out...

Dog Houses and Bones

I'll be finishing Elleens quilt today and then moving onto the next one being frame ironed on DW right now. Happy Saturday. 

Going to E.R.

Jim got a call yesterday afternoon; mom had to call an ambulance, while I was here, to come get her for a really high heart rate. She's had this before, and the meds keeping from this happening had to be D/C'd for her surgery. Needless to say, she's back on her meds and hopefully this won't happen again. After spending time in the ER and then at home with her last night she's insisting she's fine now and we could go home. 

I have nails this morning, so another trip into town. Then, at some point today, we have to run and get Thanksgiving Day fixings. Our local grocery store is too pricey to purchase all that stuff so we'll be running to Midland or West Branch later.

The quilt I'll (hopefully) be finishing today was a BOM from The Quilt Show...

More crosshatching

Crosshatching, while simple looking, is very, very time consuming. I never did get to start stitching out on DW last night because of the hospital visit. 

Jim is taking today off to hang lights and get some stuff done around here. Honestly, they don't have enough work for him and his co-worker to do anyway, so he's taking advantage of the lull.

Well, happy Friday I guess. I'll be working through the weekend since I've spent so much time away this week (and the two previous weeks). And, then we have the grandkids the weekend following the holiday. 

Independent

My mother is a very independent person. After her surgery Tuesday morning, she was pretty out of it. I spent Tuesday night and yesterday morning with her. After she felt a little better, she insisted I go home and get some work done. Jim stopped by after he got done with his work day, and again, she insisted she didn't need me to come back and spend the night "just in case". 

I have customers coming later this morning and let mom know if she needed anything (at all) I would be free after lunch. This was via text. Since sending the text last night all I've received back were crickets.

Hope she's okay. I'm going to try to call her here in a bit. 

Meanwhile, I spent most of yesterday (once I did get home) on Bernie working Elleens A to Z for Ewe and Me quilt. I'm about half-way complete on that one. Lots of cross hatching...

Every letter gets crosshatching in the background

Once I worked that for about seven hours, I shut Bernie down to prepare Bernadettes Dog Park quilt for quilting today.

Dog Park by Elizabeth Hartman

This top is so darn cute! Hazel's in the front. LOL! It's getting an E2E with dog houses and bones in it, but first I had to get the new tablet hooked up to the internet. I had to make a call to HQ and then had to reinstall the latest ProStitcher version since it wasn't recognizing the wifi. 

Once that was done, I needed to purchase the motif Bernadette wanted. Now I can set quilting parameters and get it started later this afternoon. I don't want the machine running when customers are here. It always has problems during their visit and then I become frustrated.

We were supposed to get snow last night, but the storm split and went totally around us. Oh...I didn't post this earlier in the week but we now have the final "big" section of the studio done...

The last big studio chore

So glad that's done. Devon (the company owner) is coming back out today or tomorrow to work on some house issues we're having, but the studio is now drip free. Yay!

Cutting

A lot of quilting folks have their favorite, and, well, not so favorite thing to do. At the latest retreat, I polled our room and the least favorite chore was cutting the fabric and much to my surprise, binding was one of the favorite pastimes to do when quilting.

I'm just the opposite of the poll I took. Binding is my absolute least favorite thing to do and cutting is one of my very favorites. 

I had all these to play with yesterday when preparing for the Produce Section...

Look at all the lushisness!

The first cuts are made. I know, from talking to fellow Elizabeth Hartman quilt makers, first cuts are made and bagged and then when each fruit element is made, more cuts will follow. All the colors are in their respective fruit bags and ready for me to tackle once I get to that point. 

However, today is back to the regular day schedule. I do have an eavestrough interruption in there (which is our last "big" studio finish project), but hopefully he'll show up after Jim gets out of the woods; he took today off to hunt some more.

First thing this morning I have to move the back loaded onto DW over to Bernie and then get a back loaded onto DW for an E2E that has another Christmas deadline. Man, I sure hope moms surgery isn't going to happen. I know that sounds selfish, but this is putting undo pressure on me. It takes something I love to do and turns it into a "job" which creates resentment and stress. Not cool. 

And...I'mmmm Baaaccckkk

I am back from Shipshewana, but I don't know how deep into my routine I'm actually going to be. Mom has a foot surgery scheduled for Tuesday. I'm the only close relative to assist in her convalescence. She can NOT put any weight on that foot for at least six weeks and she has very little balance left.

So, I'm going to be working second shift for a while if she passes her pre-op tests tomorrow. Jim will have to take over the afternoon watch because I still have Christmas deadlines to meet.

Today will be my last day "off" for quite a while I'm afraid.

My retreat to-do's changed in a matter of one day. The machine (Jay) that I took down didn't have enough lighting to actually allow me to work without terrible eye strain and I was in a corner where the overhead lights weren't the greatest.

I shifted gears. Did a little shopping and over the next couple of days, made something totally different than what I took down. I did get a border fabric for Bee Happy while out shopping and picked up a few Christmas gifts as well.

Here are a few quilts I brought home to quilt for customers...

A few other tops that Terri and Virginia accomplished are below...

Book Worm by Virginia

Terri's pretty flowers from a magazine she had

So many beautiful colors. We laughed. We cried. We prayed. We compared. We had a blast over all and the registration opened on Thursday for next years retreat. It was full by Saturday morning. I have that to look forward to over the upcoming months to get me through the next crazy year. 

Jim's out hunting this morning and I'll be starting to cut my Produce Section quilt out. I can't attach borders until I get all the fabrics off the sewing table or they'll end up on the floor so I have to deal with that today. 

And then tomorrow I'll be back on the big machines. We were hoping Foster would be done while I was cruising through Lansing yesterday, but his parts still haven't arrived, so another trip down to Lansing is in our future.