Quick Post Today

We have family here today and part of tomorrow. Yet, I still feel the need to write this morning while the grandkids are doing "school" with their dad (our son). I finished Sue's first quilt yesterday and did NOT start on Janices. Why? 

I was at a point where I only had about 45 minutes to work and knew if I started tearing into her quilt, I would not want to quit to go get groceries. I decided to get caught up on paperwork and then checked on my quilting log.

I keep a log of every quilt I do.

The Third Book

This is the third way I've kept track of these quilts. The first method was on my giant Post-It notes until I ran out of those. They were cumbersome and expensive to replace. The ones I used were originally left over from my classroom.

The second way was just a plain notebook that wasn't very appealing. And then I ran out of pages in that. 

Now I keep everything in here. That's about it for today. Nothing will be reported tomorrow because we are spending a complete day with family. 

Thread Changes

It takes time to change threads. And bobbins. I'm wondering if I should charge for this service? I see other long armers do. Hmmm???

Here's some of the quilting going into the body of Sues quilt...

Cross hatching

I love to cross hatch behind appliqué. I, once again, worked late last night and I still have one more row and the outer border to go. But, this WILL be done today.

I moved over to the Bee Happy piece I put together the previous night and blanket stitched all of that out.

Cute puppy in the truck

I almost messed this one up. When I started with the trailer detail I hadn't put a piece of batt behind the block, but I realized it just as I started so that's the only thing not stitched to the batting.

Once Sues quilt is done today I'll be moving on to this one...

Sister, Sister by Janice D.

This will depend on how long Sues takes to finish and how early Jim comes home from work. We have family coming in later tonight for a couple of days and we have to fetch some vittles to feed them all. He's taking tomorrow off too so I guess, logistically, today is my Friday. 

Slow Progress

Lately I've been doing many edge to edge quilts for customers as well as "free motion" quilts. I haven't done a traditional pieced quilt in a few weeks. What that means is I use the piecing and the fabric to drive what I'm going to quilt into the quilt. Lots of ruler work and thinking goes along with this.

The quilt I'm doing for Sue is a traditional quilt and I forgot just how slow they are to complete. Lots of thread changes and marking. But this is what I absolutely love! 

Here's the border treatment her quilt is getting...

Lots of marking

I have quilting rulers that measure out the marks as you quilt the quilt. But I find it easier and more reassuring to mark all the places I need to quilt first. I use a water/air pen to make these marks never to be seen again once they are removed.

After working on Sues quilt, I constructed the next block in Bee Happy (not blanket stitched yet, so no pic) and then I moved over to Foster to work on the BOM piece. Still. I like working on Foster more near the sunset/night time. The sun coming in the west window in late afternoon is hard on the eyes because of the angle of the sun this time of year. 

One customer coming to pick up later today. One came late yesterday afternoon to pick up as well. 

1,000! One-Thousand! 10-100's!

I quilted my thousandth quilt yesterday. And, to top it off, it was a Quilt of Valor!

1,000!!!!!

It wasn't quilted without struggles though. The Pro Stitcher tablet is definitely having some issues. 

Here's the Proof

I keep a running log since I've owned my first long arm on every quilt I work. There's the proof.

After that was finished (before lunch) and while it was stitching out, I loaded this one onto Bernie...

Sue S.'s Barn quilt

This is getting a lot of thread so it'll be a few days on the machine but closeups of the quilting to ensue.

The next quilt on DW was another E2E. This one had been loaded twice already and yesterday was its third (and final) attempt at getting it done. Issues: Lots of threads on the back

Seriously?

It's a two sided quilt...

Used the left over pieces to make the back

And the Pro Stitcher tablet was still misbehaving. I sure hope Jason can get me one rather quickly because the amount of stress having to do these E2E's with a computer that won't do half the functions is becoming extremely frustrating.

After [finally] quitting for the day (after 6:00) I did one more block on the Bee Happy top...

Cute little flower pot

I'm not expecting any customers. After I remove Joans quilt from DW and get that trimmed, I'll be loading another back while working primarily on Bernie today. 

Something Little Accomplished

This was a very draining weekend. Time spent with family can be a great thing, but mentally draining. Especially when your brother and mother get into a very heated tiff. Regardless, I lost myself in my happy place Saturday night and Sunday morning working on these...

Trees

Flower Row

So, not much in the way of sewing other than the blanket stitching here. I have two customers to call this morning and I'll be working on this piece today...

A QOV

I'm kind of tired of the two motifs I have in my tablet for QOV's and Urban Elementz is having a digital sale through the end of the month. I took advantage of that since Deb K. wanted some Hummingbirds in her son and DIL's wedding quilt and while I was out there downloaded another QOV E2E. 

Bernie is empty right now. Jim had to re-align his rails since he was starting to pinch a little in the middle. I'll load him up while the QOV is stitching out. 

It'll be nice when the new tablet arrives. I won't have to follow a million steps to get a new motif into the computer like I do currently. 

Ugliest Truck Ever

My brother visited yesterday. He owns one of those cyber trucks made by Tesla. U.G.L.Y. 35" tires? A 4' wiper blade. 

It is quiet though

Which, for this morning would not be a benefit. Very foggy and look at the color of the vehicle. 

Today, while the three of us are out and about, I'm driving. My gas vehicle. With 21" wipers and a bright red exterior. 

Judy's quilt is done and I finished this one last night too...

Fireworks

I have a milestone announcement on Monday but I'll wait to let you know what that is. 

Ever Have One of Those Mornings?

My toothbrush didn't brush for the full two minutes. While getting in the shower, my shower door fell apart. When, after the first pass the tablet that drives the Pro Stitcher was all jumpy and glitchy and then lost connection with the motors I should have stopped right there and directed my energies elsewhere. But I don't give up easily and after lunch, the day smoothed out nicely. 

Linda's quilt is quilted. She wants me to bind it (gasp) so I'll do that once I get back from my nail appointment later this morning.

Another thread heavy design

Judy's quilt had great progress made in it while DW was stitching out. I'm hoping to finish that one today. My goal is to have both machines reloaded before the weekend officially begins. Although, my brother is supposed to be here later this afternoon, so I may not make my goal. And the neighbors came up yesterday. A campfire was mentioned.

A variety of quilting going in

After working on the big machines I switched over to the Bee Happy project. I have this section all blanket stitched...

This section took over two hours to stitch

Here's all the Shoo-Fly blocks completed...

My cute bee

I'm hoping to work on this sometime this weekend, but I'm going to be with my brother and my mom all day tomorrow. And knowing them, we'll probably leave early-ish to do whatever it is we are doing. I'm just along for the ride. And, a buffer between mom and Chad. They don't get along too well. 

Loosing Leaves

We don't think we've had a frost yet. However, some of our Ash trees and the Dahlias are showing like we have. Even the Box Elder is losing leaves quickly. But Jims garden is doing fine as are all the other trees. 

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

Done with Kaffe fabrics

DW is driving this one per the customer. And, I'm using her motif from her long arm. Yeah, I know.

Here's some of the quilting going into Judys quilt...

Can you even see anything?

Today will be much of the same as yesterday. While DW is driving Lindas quilt, I'll be driving Judys. I may have a customer drop-off today and had a pick up and drop off yesterday. 

Linda's quilt would not be loaded right now had I not run out of bamboo batting. But I didn't have enough to do Joans quilt so until it arrives in a few days, others get pushed ahead of hers. Another warm and beautiful autumn day ahead. 

Full Moon

The moon is so cool. And viewing it over one of our great lakes as it rises for the night is even cooler. 

Moon over Lake Huron

I think this may actually be Saginaw Bay, but nonetheless, it's spectacular. And we had a marvelous sunset on the other horizon to accompany us home. Later last night, we were able to see a partial eclipse of said moon but I could not get a pick of that. It was just the top portion but also very cool. 

Here's what I'll be working on today...

Bernadettes halloween quilt

This is going to get a spiderweb edge-to-edge in it this morning. While that's stitching out, I'll be auditioning/starting this one on Bernie...

Judy's Twisted Bargello

I was initially going to put wavy lines following the twists, but I may do something different. I'm playing around with a few things in my head. I'l get the iPad out and sketch some ideas while DW is working.

One customer already here this morning dropping off a backing (the one that was too short last week) and another coming soon to pick up. The rest of the day is free to quilt away and it's supposed to be warm (unseasonably) and sunny again. Beautiful fall so far!

A Quick Post

Yesterday I finally got Judy's Pickle Dish quilted. It's still on the frame waiting for the marks to disappear. I'm going to start DW first thing after I get this post done and hopefully it'll be done before I have to leave today around 3:45 to head to Oscoda for our guild meeting. 

After getting the quilting done and all the paperwork around (it was after 6:00), I moved over to Bee Happy. I got the pinwheel blocks completed.

There are eight

Why do my centers never really line up despite accurate cutting/piecing and lining up when joining the two halves? I think I'm destined to just long arm.

Another beautiful, sunny, warm day ahead today. Unseasonably warm for a mid-September date. 

That Time of Year

About this time of year I start collecting fabric and patterns for quilts I'd like to make throughout the winter since I seldom go anywhere during the cold months. We took advantage of the beautiful day yesterday and headed over to Elm Creek to see what I could find for more background fabric for Bee Happy. And pick up anything else that caught my eye.

Here's my haul...

A few goodies

A new pattern book for a Double Wedding Ring, which is one of the last quilts on my bucket list. I'm going to attempt one. Background fabrics for Bee Happy, and a pattern/jellyroll/background fabric for a cool star-like quilt. 

I've been picking up things here and there. The Produce Section is one of those examples and what I hauled yesterday is another. I should have enough to keep me amused through about April. Or just about anyway. 

Saturday, after coming home from the art show, I met the mailman and my box arrived with the thread order placed last week, so DW is going to be cranking most of today. Well, it depends on which of the two quilts (DW's or Bernies) are from the Oscoda group because I have to head up there tomorrow night. I'll take with me anything I can. 

Art Show

The Gladwin Art Guild art show was pretty okay. I was surprised there weren't more entries or exhibits, but for a small town, we're lucky to even have such a thing. And there are definitely some talented artists here. Mom received an honorable mention in the traditional art category with one of her loose/modern paintings. 

I prefer her loose style over her painstakingly precise style

Here are a few of her other paintings on the sale wall...

I like the top one best in this section

Isn't the little girl just adorable?

I have to save money right now or I would have snagged my two favorites. After getting home and eating lunch, Jim was canning more (the last batch) of salsa and I headed to the studio. He was nearing the end of salsa just before the MSU football game started so I stayed in the studio and built blocks like a crazy woman yesterday...

Eight new Bee Happy blocks

I was going to stay in there today, but decided I need to get out of the house. Jim and I are going to enjoy the absolutely beautiful late summer day, see some color, and head over to Elm Creek to maybe pick out some more background fabrics for this piece. I don't think I have enough to get me through this whole quilt. And, even if I do, background fabrics are always a must for a stash. 

Don't Ever Get Old

As I approach the big 6-0, I find my energy level not nearly what it used to be. I work for an hour or so and then have to stretch and play with the dogs for a bit. Work some more and do the same. After six hours on the long arm, I'm spent. I power through but have to really (really) push to get through the next couple of hours.

Grandma use to say, "Getting old isn't for the faint of heart," and wow that woman was wise. Aches and pains crop up out of nowhere, sleep isn't what it used to be, energy level is zilch. I spend a lot of time thinking of ways to cut energy steps in my day; as long as I'm going upstairs with the laundry, I'll grab the water container and water plants, and grab the vacuum to do that up there too. When did I become so thrifty with my steps?

Yesterday was one of those days. It started out fine. Bernadette came over to fetch her quilt. We chatted for quite a while. It was lunch time. Jim left to go back to work, and my energy level tanked. After long arming for about two hours, that was it.

I headed over to Pieces to grab some more background fabrics for the Bee Happy quilt top, and the background fabric for The Produce Section so when I'm ready to begin that I have it available. 

Here's some more quilting going into Judy's quilt...

I love feathers!

And more feathers

All the "blades" in the Pickle Dish need to have echos done because she pressed her seams open. Twice the work but a better result nonetheless.

The trip to the fabric store put a little more energy in me so I switched over to Foster and got the black and border done on the first block. Jim got home from work and decided we were going to get groceries.

I have to attend moms art show this morning and after lunch I'm not sure which direction I'll head. Got a call from Caleb at lunch yesterday and he has received his permanent duty station after he gets done with training in Oklahoma. Vilseck, Germany. For at least two years. 

I'm excited for him and should get some great fabrics out of Europe, but I'd rather have the kids nearer than across the pond. Ah well, the life of a soldier. 

More Wildlife

Last night it wasn't screaming (from the fox) but grunting. Probably from our resident bear. We think he was down eating apples at the Bellers'. 

Still no thread (of course there isn't, I just put the order in a few days ago) meaning no DW work yesterday.

What I am working on is Judy's Pickle Dish quilt...

Of course, yellow and blue are questionable in this house

Here's some more up-close pics...

Tula!!!!

Corner treatments

I'm going to do something with this quilt I rarely do. I'm going to turn it 90 degrees when the body is completed. Reload. And then do the borders all at once. It's gotta be easier than trying to match up the feathers as I'm progressing. 

There is a LOT of quilting detail going in here and I'm taking my time doing it. I love how this quilt is coming out and this is my happy place. 😃

After working on this quilt for the day, the hot temps outside just started zapping my energy. We did not turn on the air yesterday opting for keeping the house shut up instead. But when I went outside a few times (once to the neighbors to see what the cement truck was doing and again with the dogs), it started taking all my energy.

I didn't even feel like getting on Foster and working over there, so instead did my five bee blocks for the Bee Happy quilt. 

Bzzzzz

Bernadette is coming to pick up her UofM quilt later this morning and I'll be working on Judys Pickle Dish the rest of the day. Happy Friday. 

Screaming

Last night, just before heading to bed, I let the girls out. I always go out with them to look at the stars, look for auroras, see what wildlife is prowling down at the beach, and to make sure the girls don't get face to face with a skunk. 

Talk about screaming. And then a slight purring sound. It was on foot because it was going back and forth near our two docks. Once it realized I was out there, it scooted down the beach to the north. I researched this sound to see what the heck it was. 

Apparently our fox is still in residence. It was her calling out for a mate. I guess they don't actually mate until December or January, but they establish territories and find their potential suitor so when the time arrives, he'll be in the area.

But her scream was enough to keep me up very late last night. I'm a little bleary eyed this morning, but alas, I've already gotten chores out of the way and am already heading into the studio. Kathy's quilt is done and I'm frame ironing for the next one; Judy's Pickle Dish.

Still no thread, but I'll track the order at lunch to see where it is. While frame ironing last night I worked on the "new" version of Lori Holts Bee Happy top. Here are the blocks, side by side showing the interfacing method and the Misty Fuse version...

Left...ick! Right...Very nice!

I still wasn't through Judy's back, and Jim was out working on the ice guard on the east side of the studio, so proceeded with the next three blocks...

The left one is a little far apart, but I'll take it

I'm not in any hurry to finish this quilt, so I'll take my time working on it. I received a distraction in the mail yesterday though...

A long-time want

I've eyed this quilt for almost a year now. When the pattern came, I received two of them for some reason. I have to check my invoice to see if I inadvertently selected two instead of just one. Otherwise, somebody coming through will grab the extra. 

Every Intention

I had every intention of getting this quilt stitched out today... 

An Edge to Edge with the Pro Stitcher

But after I got it loaded and all ready to start this morning, I looked at the work order last night and discovered she requested cream (#20001) thread. This is how much cream thread I have left...

Ummm...not happening

That is not enough to quilt this piece out. By a long shot. This quilt is a super king and this amount of thread here would only do a twin-size. At best. And I need this color for the other quilt I'm working on Bernie.

An immediate thread order went in last night and hopefully it'll be here quickly. Although, they usually send through regular mail, so maybe not until next week. Drats! I'm not pulling that quilt off the frame since I had so much difficulty getting the backing all straightened out and ironed.

I'll continue on with Kathy's quilt on Bernie and when that gets finished I'll just have to stick to working on him for the next few days on something different. 

After making three new pincushions (left over jars that I could put buttons on the bottom of) I moved on to something else. 

I tried to do the first two blocks in my Bee Happy quilt. Epic fail! That interfacing stuff and I are not getting along. It looked messy and after blanket stitching the appliqué blocks, I'm still not happy with it. And the frustration level was over the top. This should be a fun hobby and getting frustrated isn't fun. I'm switching modes of adhesive. Hello Misty Fuse!

I gave it a shot. I didn't like it. I gave it another shot. Liked it even less. I'm cutting my losses to a few yards of lightweight interfacing. Which I'll just use for another project. Moving along. 

I have a new customer coming today. I don't know how much business I'll get from her since she's an art quilter and only makes small pieces. She just can't seem to get the eyes right and wants me to bring the rest of it to life. But it should be fun. I love doing art quilts!

Pieced Backs

By pieced back I don't mean just joining two large chunks of fabric together to make a larger chunk. Todays discussion is about backs that have patchwork in them. This particular back is a large chain of 2 1/2" blocks along the width of the backing. Twice. 

Here's what's happening as I load it...

See all those pleats?

If I know quilt making as well as I think I do, the resulting tucks and puckers are the result of the blue fabric (the large piece) being placed below the patchwork segment when it went through her sewing machine. 

I'm working to get these out through frame ironing and spritzing heavily on the seam line. Hopefully this will be enough to rectify this situation.

While working this backing on DW, I'm quilting Kathy's quilt on Bernie. Here's some of the quilting going into it...

Ruler work and free motion

I love the flying geese sashing/filler blocks

I'll be doing much of the same today. The back will be frame ironed by days end today and I'll have everything loaded and ready to go for the Pro Stitcher tomorrow. 

Linda stopped by yesterday to drop off another one of hers, although this isn't as time sensitive as most of her others. I have a new customer coming tomorrow who was referred to me to do some art quilting. Bernadette is pleased as punch her UofM quilt is done already. So am I!

Traveling Sunday

I don't have much in the way of quilting to share today. We were on the road all day and if not traveling, visiting with the kids and grandkids. 

We had some items to exchange with everybody. Ben received his birthday gifts. Caleb received his diploma (which got lost getting here). All the kids received a nice meal at Pizza House for their birthday meals (all inclusive). Jim received canning jars and I received my gifts from the kids' cruise. They picked up some fabrics and a small skein of wool yarn and wow are these fabrics lovely... 

Love to get fabrics from abroad

So, with the wool yarn, I decided to try to knit. Again. Once again, epic fail. I love to crochet, but I get lost in the turns and don't have the ability to keep my rows consistent. Now I haven't a clue what I'm going to do with said yarn. 

I'll be finishing the UofM quilt on DW. I'll move over to Kathys barn quilt on Bernie while DW is frame ironing the backing to the next emergent quilt. I have a  busy couple of weeks coming up! 

Didn't Get the UofM Quilt Done

And MSU only won with one second left on the clock and a field goal to give us the W. See...bad juju. However, Michigan lost and so maybe it isn't such bad juju after all.

I started on this while Jim was watching the game... 

Lori Holt's Bee Happy Quilt

I've had the fabrics for over a year, but hadn't gotten the templates to work on this. Tina, from Bittersweet Quilt Shop ordered them for me and Jim picked them up on Friday. Unbeknownst to me, I also needed some bias tape makers, so I ordered those yesterday via Amazon. There are other blocks I can make without them though.

I'll still continue to cut out pieces for the cottage quilt. That's one of those projects I can take to retreat next month because it's relatively mindless sewing/piecing. I did complete the 25 partials from earlier this week, so now I have more than 40 made. 

Unfortunately today I will not be in the studio at all. We are leaving here in about 45 minutes for Lansing to celebrate Bens birthday. That's a whole day shot in the arse. It's a four-hour turn and then the time at the restaurant with all the kids/grandkids. We will probably end up over to their house after we eat, which is more time away. 

Birthday Week

Hazels birthday was Thursday, Ben's was Friday. Don't know if we're going down to Lansing or if they are coming up here to celebrate. Or, if Ben is going golfing in which nobody is traveling.

Either way, Jim and I are getting ready to head out and get groceries. We would have did it last night but we spent the evening with our neighbors, who left early this morning.

Here's a little of what's going into the UofM quilt...

Block M

All colleges have their block letters and I set these into the setting triangles around the quilt. DW did some football quilting inside of the body, and as you can see, I'm piano keying (to mimic yard markers) on the borders. It's still not done. The time spent with the neighbors took me away from the quilting.

Here's a little of the border treatment going into Kathy's quilt...

While waiting for Joan to arrive

Joan called yesterday morning (she forgot yesterday was Friday) and picked up her shorted backing to add to it. She was here for a while as we needed to do some math and get her head into what she wanted back there. 

Okay, so I guess the kids aren't coming up here. Men don't communicate well. Jim texted instead of calling and Ben indicated they weren't coming up. So, are we supposed to come down? Is he even going to be there? Or, is he golfing? Then we tried to call and it went straight to voicemail. UGH! I'm a planner. 

Yesterday Was A Blur

I had three sets of customers come in yesterday and they were both drop offs and pick ups. Five quilts out. Seven quilts in. No wonder I'm behind. 

I started loading Joans quilt onto DW yesterday but discovered the back was too short. Had to call her and then remove the back from DW. It's probably a good thing because one of the quilts that came in was a rush situation and required the Pro Stitcher to work some of it. I'll be doing some ruler work in this as well...

Yes, I'm actually quilting a U of M (bleh) quilt

I have already started this one, but have also started this one on Bernie...

Kathy's cute barn quilt

After I worked on both of these for a bit (because most of the morning and early afternoon was with customers) I was spent. I mean, when you're "live" with customers it drains the energy out of you. And it's not them. Not. At. All! It's me. I try to maintain a positive attitude, give advice when asked, work through quilting options on incoming tops, record the quilts, hang them, and clean up between each set of them. It's a lot of mental work and as I approach my not-so-young years, I'm finding it drains me. 

But alas, since I didn't get much thread work done on the "work" boys, I fired up Foster to do a little bit of work there. But, Jim decided to call Norwegian Cruise Lines while I was just getting started and after a 45 minute conversation with Victoria, we have officially booked our cruise for next year to Alaska. 

Jim and I are cruise virgins, so this should be interesting. Fortunately, Caleb and Lia just came back from their cruise and are giving some great advice on all sorts of things. 

Okay, I'm a little excited about the vacation in less than a year, and since this is a quilting blog, should get back on track with that. I'm working the UofM quilt all day today to try to get it off the frame ASAP. Bad juju when MSU plays tomorrow and that maize and blue thing should not be displayed during game day.