Closed Until Monday, February 3rd

I'm leaving for my annual Creative Escapes retreat in about 45 minutes. I won't be here so obviously there won't be any work in the studio. However, there will be a LOT of work at the retreat getting (hopefully) four tops together and, if time permits, working on the Koalas.

What did I decide on those? I'm going to cut the two on the top row down a half inch to make them work with the one that was messed up. 

I worked on Bernadettes Millies dresses while frame ironing her Tilda Sampler quilt back on DW. Once that was "ironed" I loaded her quilt and this is what I'll be working all of next week...

Tilda Sampler

I did get one block quilted before calling it a night last night...

Swim, swim, swim

I have to be careful about the amount of ruler work I do in this one. This is double batted (cotton and wool both) and it would be easy enough to snag a ruler under the needle with all the poof.

In between heater runs when I was working on Millies Dresses I did another Koala...

I love this one!

The new seam tape replacement is now a little to light (meaning I'm taking too small of a seam), but I can remedy that by using the 1/4" line to the center instead of to the left. You'll know what I'm talking about if you are familiar with the stuff. 

Once the laundry is done and I've packed my lunch I'll be off to have some great sewing fun. I'm hoping to post pics of the tops that are completed over the next few days but until then, happy rest of the week. 

I've Timed It

Lots of thread changes in Linda's quilt; 13 of them. If you multiply that out by the eight rolls I took, that's 102 minutes (just under two hours) worth of unproductive quilting. I wanted to see how long it took to do a thread change. If (that's a big if) I can get the needle threaded quickly (like in one or two goes) it takes 61 seconds to change a thread...

Some of the threads going in

Just sayin'. 

The winds yesterday were howling; gusts up to 40 mph and the house was rockin'. I just knew we were going to lose electricity and this quilt HAD to be done by the end of today. My work ethic yesterday was to quilt until a) we lost electricity or b) the quilt was done. Eleven hours later, guess what?

A big finish!

I still have to trim back threads, unload, bill out/record the invoice, and get the quilt ready for delivery, but the quilting is done. I have to get this off quickly because I have another February deadline intensive quilt to work on next. I want it to be ready for me to work when I get back from retreat. 

Which I need to get ready for today at some point. 

And that third Koala is bugging the crap out of me. Should I just add another bottom piece to it? Remake it? Ugh. I hate remaking blocks. I'll work on that tonight once the truck is ready to load tomorrow morning. Since this is logistically my Friday, and despite my being really tired (I'm not cut out to work 11 hours anymore) I'm in a pretty perky mood. 

Health

It's funny, how when we get older, our health starts to get stupid. Jim had an anxiety episode on Saturday morning so we found ourselves at Urgent Care. We wanted to make sure he was not precursuring into a stroke or heart attack. 

He has an appointment with his GP tomorrow morning to discuss this event. At any case, his BP and HR were about normal, so it didn't look like anything too severe.

After we returned from Urgent Care and Pieces (found a backing for my Kaffe top) I did get another Koala done...

The newest on the bottom

For some reason this one turned out a smidge too small. I replaced the seam tape on Ellie, so I'm thinking I got it a little too wide when I set it. I'll have to remake that one and replace it. I'll use this one for a pillow to go with the quilt.

While Jim was watching Spartan basketball I went from piecing the Koalas to Foster to start quilting the Camping quilt...

Love putting in swirls

I was going to custom quilt this (I want to custom quilt all my own quilts), but this one was a bit too whimsical and honestly, I think this was the better choice. And I get to use up all the Omni thread I have in my bin that I want to get rid of.

Yesterday was a lazy day. Jim was still a little tired from his Saturday episode and I was just drained. I was productive however. I crocheted the base and started the first slipper from the yarn we bought last weekend...

A partial first slipper

I'm putting a different colored cuff on these, so this is only partially completed. Hazel seemed to need a lazy day as well...

Isn't life tough?

I'm all recharged today and ready to face Linda's intricately quilted quilt. The sun is shining, the neighbors are gone (I can have the music a little louder) and I'm not expecting any customers at all this week. Which is a good thing because I'll be at retreat from Wednesday on. 

Speaking of retreats. A big thank you to Jim for helping me put in the larger spacers on my SewEZ table because I'm taking Ellie along to this retreat; she's deeper than Lilo so different spacers are needed on the table base. 

Not Much New

I had two customer visits yesterday and other than that, working on Linda's quilt all day (and partially through the night) nothing else earth shattering to report. Here's some more of the quilting going into her quilt...

HST treatment

I am to the center point of this quilt so I'm feeling pretty okay about it. After Jim and I head to Meijer to get some groceries, I may work on it some later. Probably not. I'm really into these Koala's. I started working on the third one last night, but the neighbors called and we went over there to visit for a while.

Jim took yesterday off to take off the stumps out in the lake since it's pretty well frozen solid...

Working on the ice

Now all of those ugly, glaring things are a thing of the past. It looks so much better. 

Bobbins

I had a bobbin in my bobbin case that was empty and used that to wind the thread I needed for this quilt (I didn't already have one of that color in the case). I can always tell when I need to replace bobbins because they start "crunching" when getting down to about the last 1/3. I then realized I need to order more bobbins because all of mine are becoming dated and questionable. Jim asked me how they go bad and I couldn't give him a decent answer other than they are made out of aluminum and are exposed to high speeds/heat so eventually they just conk out. 

I did work kind of late last night, and then I came to a section eluding my creative juices. I thought I would think about it while working on another Koala. I have since come up with a partial idea, but still stuck on the center portion. 

Meanwhile, Here's some of the quilting going into Lindas quilt...

Top Section

Working my way down

I haven't even hit the one-quarter way mark and I have two sets of customers coming today. Yesterday's customers rescheduled for today since we received a "freak" snow event that made roads a little dicey. 

Once my foot begged me to get off of it (yes, still dealing with that) and I ran out of quilting ideas, I started on the second Koala and managed to get him completed.

Now there's two!

Aren't these just the cutest? If I run out of stuff to do at retreat, these will definitely be going with me. I'm kind of getting it down to a system already, but noticed I did not cut enough of one of the backgrounds. Good thing I have enough left overs to remedy that. 

Speaking of retreats, I thought I had two weeks before leaving and as it turns out, it starts Wednesday. Like in five days. Oops. Now I'm really feeling the pressure on the quilt above. Nails this morning and then between customers I'll be working this late again I think. 

Deadlines

I've addressed this subject before. Deadlines are an artists enemy. They create undo stress and we find ourselves trying to cut corners when trying to meeting those deadlines. Maybe putting a motif in, while nice looking, may not be exactly what should be put into the space it's being placed because it takes longer to work. 

I try to avoid this situation. I check and double check my queue sheet to make sure all that needs to be done is done with plenty of time to do it. Except recently. Something slipped through the cracks, and while I haven't exactly missed my deadline, it's looming quickly and I've found myself in a bit of a stressful situation making sure I've met what is expected of me.

So, Bernadettes quilt on Bernie is on hold until further notice. I quickly quilted out Anns train quilt...

Trains galore!

I downloaded this E2E pattern from Urban Elemenz and it turned out so stinking cute!

Trains, tracks, and a crossing signal

While that was stitching out I worked the Yoder Sisters on Jay and cut for the first block in the Koala quilt top...

New Project

Here's the first block...

Number one of 12

I wish the leaves showed up a little better on that background, but it is what it is. While I was working this last night I was frame ironing and setting up for that imminent deadline quilt...

Linda's Twisted Tapestry

This quilt is done in Kaffe fabrics and will be stunning once it's quilted...not that it isn't already. I've sketched most of the center section out (taking it from this exact pic), but I still have to work the border areas into a cohesive motif with what I've planned for the center. 

Two customers expected today to pick up. These two are very friendly and we always end up visiting for a spell. That's probably why I'm up early and plan on getting some quilting in on Lindas quilt before they arrive. I may be working super late over the next few days. Maybe even Saturday. 

Unexpected snow overnight and still this morning; about an inch so far but the temps have risen to above zero at least.  

Anybody Out There?

I posted the milestone (ya know, 100 million stitches) on IG last night and absolutely nobody responded. I find that odd.

Oh well. The long arm clinic went well yesterday and lasted until well into lunchtime. I started in on Bernadettes quilt on Bernie right after lunch and in between heater runs I loaded the next quilt onto DW (will post later) and picked threads out for the Yoder Sisters for sit-down work. I also started picking fabrics for the next project (I'm not going to do the Pineapple scrap quilt just yet). 

Here's some of the work going into Millies dresses for Bernadette...

Love the texture

The Yoder Sisters are under the needle...

Getting them quilted down

And here's the next project in the very beginning stages...

Another Elizabeth Hartman pattern

I picked this up at the rummage sale in Shipshewana this last November for $2. I couldn't pass it up and since I'm deeming 2025 'Shop Your Stash' year (I guess a few others out there are doing this too), I'm going to use up some of the many batiks I have in-house. The background is a nice medium teal with lighter leaves woven in and ALL of the fabrics are right here in the studio. No need for any monetary outlay and all I've gotten into the whole thing so far is the pattern. Yay!

I have a new customer coming this morning. She has a memory quilt I need to look at made out of denim. I may not take this project on. I'll have to take a look and see what's what with it but she indicated it was made from her late Uncles jeans. Hmmmm?? 

Frigid temps again this morning. Minus 2 at daybreak with a southeasterly wind that's becoming rather brisk. So blessed to have a warm house/studio to keep us comfortable and all of us safe. 

Milestone Monday

DW passed a HUGE milestone yesterday...

100 Million!

We've certainly had some good (and some frustrating) times over the past 12 years. I love 'em though.

I'm giving a small long arm clinic (I guess that's what you'd call it) later this morning. Around 10:30 or whenever the three participants arrive. It's basically showing how to use rulers, free motion, and how a quilt is quilted and completed.

So I couldn't finish the quilt on DW since that's the one being used for demonstration purposes. The last quadrant is waiting for the ladies to show later. Meanwhile, I loaded this quilt top onto Foster...

Happy Camper

And after basting this one in I loaded this one onto Bernie...

Millies Dresses by Tilda

Bernadette loves the Tilda fabrics and patterns, and I love them too, making it a win-win situation. I'll continue to work this until the ladies arrive later this morning. I've already got the ditching in and have an idea of what I'm going to do in here as I sketched a quilt plan last night on the iPad.

After working I started playing with the Yoder Sisters and before I knew it, they were all built and this is where I stopped last night...

Two more steps to go

I have to get the ladies sewn down. I'm going to free motion on Jay (the sit-down machine) the appliqué pieces and then it'll be ready for binding. Maybe tonight?

Temps this morning: minus 7 degrees, but it's very sunny out so while it looks nice enough, being outside for any length of time isn't a good idea. 

Applique Sunday

I started building my first Yoder Sister yesterday after picking out the next quilt to head onto Foster. This is sister number two...

Turning out well

This one went together easier than I thought she would. Which leads me to believe the other three should be about the same. I'll be working those throughout the week.

Joyces/Cindas quilt will be worked on today. They are coming tomorrow to watch me quilt it and so will only be able to get to about the last quadrant today so they actually have something to watch. I don't know if I'll set in all the borders before they get here. Something tells me I should because they take sooooo long. And I have all those tucks I'm going to be dealing with. 

It was -3 degrees this morning when I [finally] woke up and the high today is supposed to be somewhere in the vicinity of 6 degrees. The river sure is making a lot of noise about it, but it's pretty cool when it "talks" down there. 

Small Project Saturday

After working on Foster to get the rest of the background filled...

Here's the "carpet" and shiplap siding

I started in on my little project. The background work will look so cool when I get the girls in there. I wanted to do that today, but those purple marks are slow in coming out (it's pretty dry in here).

Here's the small project I made...

A cute little basket

This was a YouTube video that came across and I wish I would have listened to my gut when making it. She had us cut the lining bigger than the outside, which I did as she instructed but wasn't the right thing to do. And she wasn't really clear about where to put the divider thingie and of course, I put it too high.

I was about half-way done with this before I had to start lunch and then after we talked with Ben during lunch (I had checked my email while on the phone with him) I received an advertisement for JoAnns on some great sales (yarn and fusible) and asked Jim if we could run into Midland to take a look. He agreed.

After we returned home a few hours later I started back in on my basket project and was able to finish before settling down for the night. My marks were still not gone from the Yoder Sisters so was kind of at a standstill.

Since the marks aren't gone yet (if I set a hot iron on that it's going to be permanent) I'm going to dig into my tops-in-waiting tote and pull out the next one to work. 

Happy 3rd Birthday Lucy!

Today is Lucy's third birthday. I can't believe she's been with us nearly three years. She is such a delightful little dog and is so laid back. Wow, and does she love kids!

Lucy with grandson Tristan (both from Ohio)

I love antique quilts. To look at. Not so much to quilt. There's usually some kind of issue or wonkiness within the quilt as a whole. This one has a lot of seaming threads, and I've found a variety of stains or substances in here, and I've already mentioned the border situation in yesterdays post...

And just what could this possibly be?

This looks like dried blood

There are a few others I've encountered throughout what's been done so far, but they aren't as noticeable as these two (so far). I got a back loaded for the next project on Bernie and did some of the background fill on Foster for the Yoder Sisters. 

I did get all those orphan half-square triangles put into rows (14 rows of 14) since I had 200 blocks total. I have four extra in case they don't line up right on the design wall at retreat in a few weeks.

Not working today (even though Jim is) on DW but I am working on Foster to get the "foundation" quilt done before being able to work the Yoder Sisters appliqué.

I've also found a small project I want to work on sometime this weekend, but don't know if I'll get to that or not. I may just put aside the Yoder Sisters to do that since I can't get it off my stinkin' mind. It's my day, so I get to choose, right?

The actual quilting going into the antique quilt

Date Day

Jim and I go out on a "date" every week. We might just grocery shop, but it's time spent together without any outside distractions at home to pull us apart. It means a lot to me to talk to my best friend for an hour of uninterrupted noise. Some might say, "But it's just getting groceries" To us, we make it a game or have fun with it any way we can. It works for us and we are nearly 40 years in the making.

Anns quilt was completed yesterday morning and I started right in on Joyces quilt on DW even before lunch. Here's what I'll be working on through the next couple of days...

Penny Quilt (as they are calling it)

But it's actually a Trip Around the World pattern. The fabrics in here are circa 1940's so I'm using a much smaller needle and thread to quilt this out. And I'm not putting a butt load of thread down since they wouldn't have back then either.

Right out of the gate I knew there were going to be issues. Here's the top borders...

Say 'hello' with the wave

Yep, I have a feeling the iron and some steam are gonna be our friends on this one. 

I'll be working this most of today. I still need to get Anns quilt off the frame (was waiting for the marks to disappear) and trimmed up, and then I have to get the next back started on Bernie in between quilting breaks on Joyces. Happy Friday. 

Found

I had to do some maintenance on both of my bobbin winders last night and found these in a basket with all the tools for the machines...

Lots of half-square triangles

Before I do anything else I should probably put these into some kind of arrangement and get them sewn together. 

Believe it or not, I still have a half-day on Anns quilt. These Judy Neimeyers take so long to do. It's only the last border, but again, borders take forever and all the flying geese are individually started/stopped. 

After working I started right in quilting the background for the Yoder Sisters wall hanging. 

The left block

The center block

The right block

All the background area needs to be done next. The pattern designer pebbled all of it, but I'm (of course) not going to follow her lead (I didn't with the blocks either). 

After working on those blocks, I finished binding the last quilt on Foster and here it is complete...

Ready to give away

Not sure where or who this is going to. I just love making things. I'll be starting on what I've loaded onto DW later this afternoon, but today will be cut a little short; we have to get food at some point so basting in and getting a design planned will be about all I get done I'm afraid. 

Bitter Winds

Even though it's very cold outside (six this morning), the wind is what makes it nearly unbearable. Jim said it's even cutting through his Carhartts. 

One more day on Anns quilt I think. Once again, while the furnace was running I was working on Foster and piecing the background for the new Yoder Sisters wall hanging. 

This is now complete

I have attached the binding on one side. I'll finish that tonight. I did finish the whole background on the Yoder Sisters and have it loaded...

Ready to quilt

Yep, I know. Normally one would get the appliqué on there and then do the quilting as a whole. I'm not doing it that way. This has a lot of really intense quilting in it and it's too big to do on my sit-down machine, so I'm going to background quilt first, attach the appliqué pieces and then appli-quilt those down on the sit down. Everything will be stabilized and I can whip that puppy around as needed while adhering the appliqué pieces. 

Who likes to follow rules anyway?

My scrap dresser is bugging me again. I think I'll get the Creative Grids pineapple ruler back out and start eating up some of those scraps. I just need to stick to darks and lights. There is no right way on a scrap quilt I don't think. I'll just starting cutting the needed pieces, make some piles and then start working block by block. 

Brrrrrrrrr!

It's snow crunching cold out there this morning. This is one of those weeks where I'm glad I don't have to get bundled up, warm up the truck, put on clothes I hate, and have to brave the weather to go to a useless job. 

I'll be working more on Anns quilt today. I'm nearly half-way completed with it and now that I have all the motifs decided upon and got my groove, it should go faster.

Jim and I discussed the whole heater-placement-near-Bernie thing and we've decided to just leave it. I'll have to do alternative work the six minutes it runs every 45 minutes or so. We have dedicated plug issues and the esthetics of the room would be severely compromised. 

After working a little late, and while the heater was running, I was planning for the next project. I got fabrics pulled and cut before turning Bernie off for the night. I did get a little Foster time in there as well, but that quilt still isn't finished. 

Here's the next project I'm going to do...

Isn't this cute?

We live on the outskirts of a huge Amish community and have used them for much of the supplies in the new studio. There is piecing and appliqué both in this decent sized wall hanging. I've already pieced the first block the girls are "looking" at, but the appliqué portion is going to slow me down as there is a LOT of detail in there.

Another One Ready

I have three tops to make at retreat so far...

Doesn't look like much, does it?

The third set of blocks I was working on Friday and Saturday was finished yesterday while Jim was watching his Spartan basketball game. Not sure what I'm going to start next. Mom bought me a couple of things for my birthday, but I'm lacking supplies for both (fusible and some base fabric). 

I do have another small appliqué thing in my bag-o-projects that I may delve into since I have enough fusible (or rather, the right kind of fusible) for that project.

Misty Fuse isn't going to be an option for the first one mentioned above. It's expensive and I need seven yards of the stuff. Not to mention I've noticed the fabric frays with it. I don't want this to be stiff (ruling out most paper-backed fusible), and I don't want it to gum up my needle. I'm going to ask Sharon next time I see her what she recommends since she taught the class over at Bittersweet. 

I'll be working Anns quilt on Bernie today and hopefully finishing the one I have on Foster after the work day is done. 

Another New Project

My husband, Jim, loves to do puzzles. Now that we have an actual dining room table (only used about three times a year) he has a surface to work on. He has two Spartan puzzles from last year and this year both to work. I asked him if he liked starting them or finishing them; what was his favorite part? He said all three phases (start, working, and ending) were enjoyable.  

I'm the same way with my quilt projects. I love all the facets of working a project from picking fabric, to cutting it out, piecing, quilting (probably my favorite), and yes, even binding (least favorite). 

Here's a new project I started yesterday after going to Pieces and getting that dark, dark blue I needed for the background colors.

This is going together fast!

I'm going to work that some more today while Jim works his puzzle(s). We should go in and visit mom, but I just need a day to "play" and relax. We're eating our New Years crab legs today (we were still both sick to eat them earlier) and going to snuggle with the girls while watching it snow every so lightly out the living room windows. 

More Snow Then Expected

We were only supposed to get a little over an inch of snow yesterday. 3+ inches later...but it's so pretty.

Jim headed off to work with my truck after he cleaned up the driveway. His tire went flat again. He said the tire place could not find a leak yesterday but something certainly isn't right?

Here's some of the quilting going into Anns QOV...

Lots of pebbles

The plumber was here most of the morning. New customer received. And this heater thing is either going to be my nemesis or a positive thing. I work on piecing or my own quilts on Foster when it's running. Lucy likes it though...

Right in front of the blower

I managed to get all the blocks together for the Pineapple top and that'll go to retreat in a few weeks...

Ready to be assembled

Once I was done with "working" for the day and got the Pineapple quilt blocks packed, I started a new project to replace the Christmas mat under my utility thingie in the middle of my sewing table...

It matches my thread bin

I love, love, love Tula Pink fabrics. These were 10" squares left over from the Shipshewana rummage sale two years ago. I've been waiting for a project to use them with and this was perfect!

Jim and I were up very early this morning (like around 5:00) for whatever reason. Who knows? I've already cleared the studio walk, the back deck, did a load of laundry, showered, unpacked and installed the new printer (the grandkids broke my other one), texted my mother and brother (she had another heart situation last night), made rice, and ground a new canister of coffee. It's barely even 9:00. 

Not sure what direction I'll head in the studio yet. I haven't even had my second cup of coffee. I do know I need to run to Pieces to get that dark blue fabric for my next project. Jim said he should be home before they close at 2:00. He's driving since I'm sure the roads are pretty dicey. 

Sunny to Gloomy

It was so sunny out yesterday. A welcome reprieve from the gloom previously. But, this is Michigan and two sunny days in a row in the winter is almost unheard of and today proves that fact. Very cloudy this morning and we are expecting a bit of snow later this afternoon. Ahhhhh...winter. But better than bugs!

I finished Janices quilt yesterday...

See why these borders took so long?

I started in on Anns quilt on Bernie...

Stars of Valor by Judy Niemeyer

Isn't this quilt gorgeous? I'm hoping she's going to gift it and my military son saw this over the holiday and went nuts! They have a Judy Niemeyer (Amazon Star) on their bed and this would be a very nice compliment to that quilt. Isn't it funny that I have two red/white/blue quilts going at the same time?

I'll be working on this mostly between people visits; one customer, one plumber, one brother, and, one mother are all expected in and out throughout the day. 

I've discovered one thing though. Working on Bernie a) when the furnace is running and b) when it's sunny out is nearly impossible. The furnace bakes you and the sun blinds you coming through the south window. I may have to rethink the arrangement out there???? Jim's going to kill me if I already want to move things around. But that's what I do. I like change and this may need to happen to keep production going.