Last Day Home

We are getting so excited and so ready for this trip. The earthquakes and tsunamis that have occurred recently aren't going to affect our trip, but we are still a little concerned nonetheless.

Three machines yesterday. Marty has the Tilda Sampler that was worked until I could get the backing frame ironed on Ginny's quilt on Bernie... 

Little Birdies

This is going to show in September so I'm on a time crunch for this to be done today. While I was working this, and after I returned from lunch with Linda, I loaded this onto DW...

Another Time Cruncher

This one is called Winterberry and will need to be completed before I leave or as soon as I return a week from Monday. It's getting an E2E but a pretty tight one so it'll need to be babysat. 

I am a little apprehensive starting the one above while working the birds because if anything goes wrong, and I'm still grabbing/doing stuff around here for the trip, I'll become frazzled. 

Here is the quilting going into the little birds...

Close quilting

A little bit of feathers and a close stipple with some ruler work on those HST's. This is today's project. I just made up my mind. I need to remember to unplug all the stuff in the studio when I'm done and sheet cover all the tops on the machines. Whew, so much to do before we leave. 

The Next Couple of Days...

...are going to be a whirlwind. I'll be quilting this morning. I have a customer coming later this morning to drop off and then we're going to lunch. As soon as I get back, Jim and I need to run back into town to get a quit claim deed notarized. The neighbors are going to be up but we don't know if it'll be late tonight or not. If not, we'll be expected to run over there for a bit to visit, because, we have nothing better to do.

Patty came yesterday to pick up her three table runners/wall hangings and I started on Deb H.'s Tilda Sampler. Here's some of the quilting going in there...

Look familiar?

It's like I've taken the pics from February

And once again. Same.

I'll be working on this all day. I did get a pic of half of Gravity yesterday while the sun was shining through the south window...

Ain't is purdy?

I love all the texture in this and I think this is going on one of the beds as soon as I can get it bound. I'm thinking black binding for it, but don't have any around the place so will need to quickly run to Pieces tomorrow to pick some up. 

I need DW for two E2E's that have been asked about. When I get back I'm hoping to get those pumped out. I'll have them loaded tomorrow sometime so they'll be ready when we get back.

Speaking of which; our trip. My toes look so nice. They match my fingers and all I have left to do is color my hair. Isn't it funny that when you look nice you feel more confident? Energetic. Productive. We have some house things to do tomorrow to prepare for departure like cleaning bathrooms, the girls' pen, watering plants, mowing, and leaving notes for the dog sitter. Just to name a few. 

Only The Second Time

I've only had a pedicure one other time in my life and this morning I'm having my second. Jim got me a gift card to the salon I go to for my manicures so I'm going to take advantage before our trip. 

Here's some of the quilting that went into Patty's autumn table runner...

Wandering leaves, swirls, and continuous curves

I worked on this piece yesterday after getting the autumn piece above completed. And got it finished!

Getting ready for fall

While I was frame ironing the back for the Halloween table runner, I loaded and started on this piece for Deb H.

Another Tilda Sampler

Thankfully I don't have to think about this one. She (too) wants it like I did Bernadettes. After getting Halloween done, I loaded this table runner...

Oh! Christmas Tree!

While I was frame ironing this back, I was working on DW (since it was well after quitting time) and was able to finally complete the Gravity quilt! There was a reason I did that in that I have two digital E2E's in queue and I need DW to work those since the customer provided the digitized design via stick. 

I have to wait for the marks to disappear (used a different pen than usual) before removing from the frame but am excited to see it fully quilted once it's removed. After looking at my blog, it was another day using all three long arms. And people ask why I need three?

All Our Bags Are Packed...

...and we're ready to go. Well, not everything is packed, but a good portion was done yesterday. That took a lot longer than I had anticipated. Not only did we pack stuff, but going through our dressers/closets we found stuff we needed to donate or recycle. 

Interestingly enough, we found a set of locks we can't find keys for and we found a set of keys we have not a clue what locks they go to. And if we throw them away, the missing pieces will surface.

Before we started packing, this announcement came through on IG and FB...

Number Seven on the way

We knew about this already, but were told to keep our mouths shut until she passed her first trimester. That was tough! So grand baby number seven is due in January!

Saturday I was getting ready for the fair trying to find a small project to take to work on. It was pouring rain and I wasn't looking forward to the trip, and then I received a phone call from our daily point person indicating all the raffle tickets were sold in the preceding days of the fair and I didn't need to make the trip up. 

But while searching for this small project to take along, I found two WIPs that needed to be dealt with. Actually, I found four but I trashed two of them because they were no longer interesting to me.

Here is WIP number one...

Another studio-themed wall hanging

I had eight of the paper pieced blocks done. Could not find the book to do another, so put a quilt-themed block in the center. I sashed and bordered it out and then put it into the "to quilt" pile. 

Next. Part of a Farmers Daughter top. Again, the book is gone, I had no interest in making more blocks, and the colors in here aren't where I gravitate toward anymore. What blocks I did have done made a nice throw once I constructed them into rows, inserted sashing, and a small border...

A nice throw-sized quilt top

Those took me until later in the afternoon to complete. So much for "working" since I decided to squirrel instead. Jim got his first batch of spicy pickles up while I was doing all of this so we were both having a ball on Saturday. 

I'll finish Patty's table runner this morning and then get the next Tilda Sampler loaded onto Marty. I don't know how much of that I'm actually going to work. Patty has a few more smaller quilts in there that I think I'm going to get off the queue list before leaving Friday. 

By The Time...

...I was completely finished with Anns quilt stuff, loaded the next back onto Marty (no imminent deadlines...yet), picked thread for the table runner of Patty's, it was already 11:30. I did get it basted in, ditched, and designed in my head before lunch.

Jim came home early due to the heat/lack of work and we headed to West Branch to get some groceries for the dog/house sitter, a few cruising things (I needed a travel pillow since I'm stuck in the middle seat) and our food for the week. It was past 7:00 before we got everything unloaded.

Needless to say, the table runner did not get finished but here's a little bit of what's going in. I'll tackle that this morning while Jim is starting his pickling season today.

We have bad lighting today due to some rain coming in

I think I need to make a bag for the travel pillow??? I don't know. 

I'm working at the fair later this afternoon, but because it's an hour away, I'll have to leave here around 12:45 to be there by 2:00. Better get to what I need to do out in the studio, huh? 

Getting Ready

Jim and I are embarking on our very first vacation since our honeymoon (40 years ago) to Alaska via Norwegian Cruise Lines a week from today. The luggage is drug out. Clothes are beginning to get picked. Paperwork is getting organized. Yep, we're so ready for this rest.

People who are our age should not be working the amount we work. And for such long periods of time. My next "rest" won't be until at least October, but probably more like November when I head to Shipshewana. 

Back to work stuff (for at least the next week). Here's one last look at Anns quilting in her Floral Felicity...

A leafy feather in the leaves 

What I call a 'prayer' set of feathers

And more feathers in the tulip

That quilt is now nearly done. I still need to bill, record, and call the customer to let her know it's all finished. Not without some issues though...

A missed seam

Fabric smudges

Seams pulling apart

I've noted all of these in her work order so we can take a look at them when she comes to get it. There was one other issue but didn't snag a pic of what it was and don't really remember the issue.

This is what I'll be working on today...

One of many table runners Patty dropped off

This looks like a nice Friday project while I'm frame ironing for the next quilt on Marty. I have some deadlines in the queue I need to take notice of so I'm not sure what I'm loading next on the big frame. And, tomorrow I'll be in Hale working at the Iosco County fair, so not much in the way of studio work. Unfortunately. 

Feeling Like a Machine

I had another customer call yesterday inquiring about the whereabouts of her quilt. I counted how many quilts I received in March. I thought it was 19 when actually it was 22. If you figure one or two per week, do the math. 

I have to make a decision. I need to talk with Andrew about this (amongst other things) to see if declining new customer business is a wise decision. I'm not sure what else to do. 

Meanwhile, here's some more quilting eye candy on Anns Floral Felicity...

Flower Power

The bottom half of the one above

Hopefully today will be the last day on this quilt, making it a full weeks work. 10 or more hours per day on it and there ya go. That's why I'm so behind; intensely quilted work. 

PT first thing this morning and the back here in time to open up the studio. I'm so ready for a vacation, yet I'm stressing about all these backlogged tops. I'm not sure how much I'm going to be able to enjoy myself knowing these are sitting here waiting for me to work on them all the while I'm traipsing around in Alaska. 

Carry On My Wayward Thumb

Okay, that's three. First the finger/hand, then the toe/foot, and now the other hand/thumb. I tried to long arm my thumb into Ann's quilt yesterday while basting in the sides after a roll...

Basted my thumb

At least I know Bernina long arms can go through thumbs. 😲

I have a rescheduled nail appointment first thing this morning (my normal isn't until next Friday, but I'll be en route to Alaska on that day) and then I'll be back at Anns quilt all day the rest of today.

Had a lovely conversation with a customer yesterday while I was working. I love my customers; they are so friendly, full of great stories, and insightful information. She was giving me a heads-up for incoming tops she'll be dropping off later this summer-ish.

Here's some more quilting going into the Floral Felicity...

I love texture!

We think we have our dog sitter situation figured out. I was becoming stressed about the girls heading to Lansing for 12 days because...well...plenty of reasons. The girl that watched them during the reunion has agreed to watch them again this time around so they'll be home here where they are most comfortable and she has plenty of family down the road to assist if she has any questions or concerns. Yay!

Busy Around the Lake

It's apparent folks are becoming excited about our lakes coming back next spring. There seems to be a lot of activity throughout the shores with seawalls, landscaping, dock repairs, weed removal, and general construction. It's nice to hear all the preparedness going on. It's nice to hear the lake coming back to life. 

A few more pics of the quilting going into Anns quilt...

Runny Babbit

Stem Treatment

Blogger is still being a pic dick. I have to attempt three times to get pics into my blog. What's up with that? 

Yesterday was an 11 hour day and today will probably be around 10 hours since I'm getting a little later start. Either way, it's continued work on the Floral Felicity all day. 

To Recap

Since it's been three days since I've been in the studio, let's recap on what I'm working on. First, I'm doing Floral Felicity for Ann N. 

Here's some more quilting going in...

Lots of Feathers

And Pebbles

This will be most of this weeks' project on Marty. DW is still wearing the Gravity quilt and I'm still working on the Tilda top when I need to sit for a spell.

Getting ready for a long trip is a lot of mental work, let me tell ya. Thank goodness Jim is taking care of all the physical stuff while I make notes for stuff we need to do before leaving in two weeks. 

Friday was Traverse City with the family, Saturday was in Lansing for Jacobs 7th birthday party, and yesterday we did some much needed chores around the house; weeding the flower bed at the fence, washing the gutters and fascia on the garage and house entrance, washing the garage door, and washing Hazel after spending a little time fetching sticks in the lake. 

It's going to be long days this week in the studio since I'm feeling a little behind. 

Going To Traverse City

I'll be out of the studio today. I'm heading to Traverse City with my mom and brother...the same brother whose house I feel down the stairs and broke my finger. 

Here's some of the quilting going into Ann's Floral Felicity...

Just a few feathers

There is more but I don't have time to fight with Blogger this morning and I have to scoot into town to meet the family. I'm keeping my phone on in case somebody calls but I'm pretty much out all of today. 

Electricity and Storms

While Jim and I were eating lunch yesterday, our TV went off for no apparent reason. We called our neighbor down the road and he too was without power. Our township supervisor posted Consumers Power was doing a substation upgrade and the power would be off for about two or three hours. 

Needless to say, my work day was cut short. Thank goodness I started early. I no sooner got back onto Marty and then I heard thunder. Sure enough, here comes a nasty batch of storms our way. Once the storms passed and I fired Marty back up; we were not getting along well at that point. It was around quitting time anyway so I just shut him down for the day. 

Well, this isn't good for long arming

Here's what I'll be working on for the next [almost] week...

Ann's Floral Felicity

Yep, I've already done two of these buggers. They take a LONG time to work so yesterday's electricity and storm situation was not welcome.

I did get some fabric cut for the Tilda piece while waiting for the power to be restored. When I decided customer long arming wasn't in the cards, I worked on a few blocks for the Tilda piece (Andrew had called at that point), and then moved over to DW to work on Gravity for a spell after he finally let Jim and I go. 

Customer coming today to pick up and cooler temps are in our future for the next few days. Thank goodness. Here's yesterdays high...

BLEH!!!

Memory Lane

Yesterday was not a good news day. I found out my childhood friend from our cottage had a death in her family (FIL) and one of my customers lost her husband the previous day. 

My father texted me and asked for another quilt for his bed since his wife 'borrowed' his indefinitely. While I was going through totes after my PT appointment, I couldn't help thinking about these two deaths and how precious life is. 

And then I pull out quilt after quilt and think about how much joy making those quilts gave me and how it's hard to let them go (for sale, or whatever) just like a member of our lifes circle. Here are a few of the ones I sent pics of to dad to see if he'd like any of them...

This is the one he selected. Farm Girl Vintage II by Lori Holt

I don't remember the name of this one

Seasons by Edita Sitar

Just a scrappy pattern I found on line

There are a crap load more out there, but he was looking for a large queen/king-sized quilt and it needed to be dark in color since his dog sleeps with him sometimes. 

I'll continue to make quilts because it gives me joy and happiness and damn it, life is too short to not be doing what we love to do. 

Had a drop-in set of women stop by yesterday morning. I don't think I'll be seeing them again since price was their main concern. I also had a previous customer come to drop off just one top around lunch time. I did get Bernadettes quilt finished in the early evening. I worked on DW for a bit and then moved over to the Tilda piece for a while. 

 

Hopefully today I'll have uninterrupted work time and can enjoy the rainy day headed our way. We need the rain. The lawn is starting to turn yellow and Jim's garden is looking pretty wilted. 

Reunion Done!

The trailer is in the barn. The kitchen stuff and linens have all been washed. Inventory is complete. We are done for a year. Here's some of the kooky people we do all this for...

Still missing some from the pic, but you get the idea

This reunion wore us out. It was hot. It was humid. And it seemed like I was running more than usual for some reason. I lost a little weight but wow, it took until today for me to recharge my batteries.

And now Jim is getting us ready for our Alaskan cruise in two-ish weeks.

I did get some work done yesterday afternoon. Here's some more quilting going into Bernadettes quilt...

A Crab

Some seashells and a dead fish

A sand castle

The three pics are what long armers call "ghost" stitching meaning it's not pieced or appliquéd, but we insert objects into negative spaces, like above. 

PT first thing this morning. I have a customer coming to drop off later this morning, and I'll be working on Bernadettes quilt the rest of the day. I'm glad to be back into the studio, that's for sure! 

Not Even 7:00 Yet

And I've already taken my shower, started the laundry, and made coffee. Here I am blogging and then I'll grab some breakfast before heading out to PT. Here's some of the quilting going into Bernadettes Summer quilt...

Swim with the Fishies

You are my sunshine

Howdy!

I'm doing some ghost stitching in the sand and I'll show more pics later on that. Meanwhile, today is a quilting, packing, cleaning day to prepare for reunion. Don't know if I'll be blogging tomorrow because I have guild up in Hale before leaving for the reunion. 

I did get a little work on DW done last night as well as a few more blocks in my Tilda top. 

My Last Day of Freedom

This is my last day of quilting freedom and then reunion things start to take over my life. Yipee. 😒

Linda's Tantor elephant is done and she's coming over sometime today to pick him up. I think I did more unsewing yesterday than I did actual sewing...

Picking out stitches

Meanwhile. I'm sneaking in a project for Bernadette next while I'm frame ironing for Ann's second quilt. Here's what I've already started for her...

Tilda Sunny Summer

I can not wait four months for it to circulate in the queue. It's clearly geared towards summertime and she's teaching a class on it so I want to get the "example" quilted for her. Being the graceful customer she is and did not pressure me to get it done I'm going to take care of my regular customers as best as I can.

I did an hours worth of long arming on DW and have another roll in. It was partially done, meaning I can not do one pass in an hour on that huge quilt. Was on all three long arms again yesterday. 😆

And yesterday I got to do something I haven't done in over two months; I cut, pieced, and pressed some blocks together on my Sewing Tilda top. I really am excited about getting that on the wall, but I'm afraid as small as the pieces are it's going to be a while before that happens. 

Lots of Appointments This Week

Well, for me I have a lot. Wednesday is PT. Thursday is Hale Guild. Friday is nails, and of course, the reunion is Thursday through Sunday. We'll be heading to the reunion as soon as I get back from Hale. I'll buzz into town to get nails done first thing Friday and the rest of those four days are reunion focused.

Today I'm going to be finishing Linda's quilt. Hopefully. I have to go back and unsew part of the border on the top because I messed up centering it. I think I need to ditch the trunk rungs too because I'm not liking how they are laying down. 

Sometime yesterday we received two packages from Amazon. We never heard anybody, or see/hear anything pull into the drive. The dogs never barked. The Ring never fired. We noticed the packages after it had been pouring for a while. Thankfully they put them on the studio porch and didn't get too wet. 

Here's the new pattern I purchased at Bittersweet and then off to 'work' I go...

For anybody who loves books

This pattern is fat quarter friendly and I have a number of them I can use this with. I'll need to purchase background and page fabric, but I couldn't remember the color scheme of my fat quarter bundles I do have meaning I couldn't purchase those Saturday. 

Happy Independence Day Weekend

I tried to post yesterday, but the wifi and channels were pretty jammed with everybody being up over the holiday. We didn't have anybody up, but all the neighbors did and that taxes our little country connection. 

I am about 2/3'rds of the way done with Linda's quilt. I didn't work on it Friday or at all during the weekend.

We headed to Bittersweet Quilt shop yesterday (because they were about the only ones open) after we did some Gladwin stuff (Craft Show, Farmers Market, Lunch) and I purchased another Clover chalk marker, a new pattern, and a new box/basket for the microwave cart we brought up from the barn the previous day.

Yesterday I actually made and attached a binding!!!!! My hand is sore today with all the 'new' movement, but it's great to know I'm actually functioning nearly full throttle...

Binding!!!

The colorful X's and O's is officially done. Now I won't hesitate to finish Gravity on DW because my rule (internally) says I can't take the quilt off the long arm until the previous one is bound. I have to do this or I would never get any of my bindings done. 

And, this morning we start with reunion stuff. The trailer is up...

Just getting her out of the barn

It started to rain just as we got her set on her boards which is good. We need the rain and it'll wash the thing off. Although, this morning's rain is supposed to be brief, we are expecting more this afternoon. Hopefully this isn't going to just make it muggy. It's already pretty heavy out there.