Good-bye Summer

While our summer is quickly fading with our fall rains finally arriving and colder temps starting to show themselves, I'm preparing for next summer. Now that we have an actual dining room table, I made this Tuesday/Wednesday...

Ready for the lakes return

From there, I assembled the new baby girls Spartan quilt. I didn't snag a pic of it but while parading it around the retreat floor, I fired up the Spartan fight song and danced with it in my hands. It was a big hit!

And what a GREAT bunch of ladies I was privileged to spend four days with. I'm hooked and I think I found a wonderful group to share our love and passion of quilting with.

Today is leggings and sweatshirt day since I'm not appointment obligated. Some of my retreat stuff is staying in the truck and I've brought in about all I'm going to need until I have to return to the Quirky retreat on Monday morning. 

The Halloween quilt should be finished today and I'm overseeing Jim attempting his second quilt on DW.

Trying His Hand

Jim is trying his hand at digitized quilting. Well, he's done it before, but that was years ago. I'm right here with him, talking, teaching, coaching him through some of the things I've learned over the years. And, he's doing a marvelous job.

He does have a tendency to let the machine intimidate him, but he'll get over that quick enough and will be off and running in no time. I mean, if the little old ladies can grasp the concept, he certainly can too.

Meanwhile here's what he's working on...

A large quilt for his "first" time back

Here's what he's putting into it...

The motif going in (for a boy)

And here's how it's stitching out...

Perfect for this quilt and its recipient

After working with Jim in the morning here in the studio, I headed up to the retreat center to spend the rest of the day with the gang. I didn't get nearly as far as I wanted to because, for some reason, a sign was hung at my work station that read something like, 'please talk to me for hours because I really don't have anything to do here'. I had three individuals stop by and chat for long periods of time and it doesn't provide for very productive work.

But right after dinner last night, just as the sun was starting to get pretty low in the sky, we had a storm roll through and then it became sunny. We were rewarded with natures splendor out the window...

Beautiful view with the color and the rainbow

I have a customer coming this morning to drop off. Jim ran out of bobbin thread near the end of his quilt and didn't remember how to deal with getting the bobbin back in the case to restart and so today's lesson will be about that before getting him restarted on the quilt. I'll be working [still] on the Halloween quilt on Bernie before leaving for retreat again today. 

One Project Finished

The kiddos don't usually read or keep track of my blog posts, so I'm chancing posting up their first baby quilt finished yesterday at retreat. Well, it's not finished, but the top is complete...

Ready for quilting

I've pulled the next project out of the retreat tote and will be making swimsuits and sunglasses later today.

Jim's lessons are going well. He remembered a lot of what was learned yesterday and this morning we are tackling the Pro Stitcher and how to set the area and motif in for quilting. He selected the motif and I agree with what he put in since this is going to be for a boy.

I'll be continuing on with the Halloween quilt on Bernie (teaching takes a while) while DW is doing his thing this morning. 

Retreat Week(s)

This week, starting last night, is the week for the Hale Country Quilters retreat. Everybody (well almost) had their stuff set up and were sewing by 7:00. We weren't to arrive before 6:00. I hadn't planned on sewing last night, but just setting up for today. 

And then we got to talking and I figured, as long as I'm here...

Just half of the room

There is more 'room' behind me and more again off to the right there where people are sewing. There are 36 of us this week.

Next week will be the Quirky Quilters Quilt Guild retreat at the same place. That one doesn't start until Monday morning (instead of Sunday night), but again, goes through Thursday. I don't know if we'll be down here in the main retreat room or if we'll be upstairs in the sanctuary, since there's usually much less in attendance. 

For both of these, I'll be here in the studio working in the morning and then heading to the retreat center after lunch.

Jim is at the doctor this morning for another follow up appointment from his fall. His DM still hasn't returned his phone calls and neither has the co-worker that was with him. The customer whose property he fell on said he'd send a statement about watching him take his tumble, and yet, a week later and nothing has come through his email. I smell a rat.

At any case, Jim has an attorney doing some investigating and is pitching for our team in getting this settled. It's a shame when the honest person gets punished for bad people in the past. 

I'm going to be working the Halloween quilt on Bernie this morning. Once Jim has returned we have a lesson on how to load and start/audition a motif for the quilt going onto DW. We may or may not start it today, but if not today, then tomorrow we'll get the Pro Stitcher going. 

What the Heck?

Well, I marked the quilt I was working on Bernie and had intended to fire up the long arm, but then, squirrel. 

What's this all about?

What?

And how about this?

Ooookayyyyy???

Here's the deal. I saw a YouTube video on the Handi Quilter site a few years back. Kim and Kristina were demonstrating how to appliqué on the long arm (rather than having to do all of that on your domestic). Kristina showed a quick blip about a cathedral window she did and then the video was quickly over.

The community outcried for Kristina to do a little more in depth dive into how she did her cathedral window and about nine months later, they indeed did a video on this method of making a the one she quickly showed us previously. I have had the background for this for months, and am just finally getting into setting it up. Jim figured I needed to cut 640 'petals' for what I mapped out here. I have a little over 200 cut. 

My wrist was telling me that was enough so then I moved over to starting those strips from the three jelly rolls I purchased a few weeks ago. 

Here's where I left off around 7:30 last night...

Ready for pressing and getting together

There are fifty strips here (well, one is on the pressing table waiting). All the seams need to be pressed and then I have to join them in the order they are laying here on the cutting table. This is all I'm planning to do today other than getting things around for retreat later tonight. We can't arrive before 6:00 so I have all day to play. The weather is cooperating in that it's supposed to rain all. day. long. Welcome "real" fall. 

Finally!

The encoder arrived yesterday while we were out and about with mom in West Branch. Boy did we see some beautiful colors in our travels. I think we're at peak right now and it's breathtaking with our cloudy, overcast day.

While installing the encoder this morning we ran into this...

Huh?

The plug was the same size as the prong receiver. A call to Gall and after eventually talking to Jason, we figured it out (the plug casing came off the old encoder and had to be removed). After a test run with DW to see if the encoder was indeed the problem, showed us that IT WAS! He's stitching beautifully now!

Jim is loading Cindy's backing right now to start getting it frame ironed.

Meanwhile, after getting home from our birthday fun, I finished my BOM block for month four...

Not my usual color scheme, but pretty nonetheless

That didn't take too long and so cut and pieced my next BOW resulting in this...

I love the mitten!

I'm writing late today because we were technicians first thing while a storm rolled through on DW, and we had planned on heading to an estate sale in Cadillac. But with the poopy weather and all, we decided to just stay home today and putter around here.

We were gone all day yesterday, and frankly, I need to start pulling together stuff for my retreat starting tomorrow night. 

I may work on my strip top or maybe another BOM, or, or, or we'll see where the wind takes me today in the studio. I should probably long arm a little bit on customer stuff since I did pretty much take yesterday off, so there's that. 

Still Nothing

No encoder yet. I probably could have walked to Lansing and back in the time it's taking to get up here. Meanwhile, I had one customer visit with three drop-offs yesterday. Jim had family stop by in the late afternoon for a visit and then I received a call from the kids in Germany to ask about baby movements and lack thereof. 

Needless to say, not much quilting happened and after Aunt June and Deb left, I was way out of a long arming state of mind. I started to work on month five of my BOM and I also prepped as much as I could of my BOW for today. Some of the pieces in the log cabin can be assembled prior to getting the block.

Here's some of the quilting going into the quilt on Bernie...

Can you see the broom and the pumpkin?

I forgot to snag pics yesterday while I was working. 

Today is a half day as we are going out to lunch with mom and then doing some grocery shopping after. And, I didn't get up until 9:09 this morning because Mr. Mouse decided to serenade me with some chewing in my bedroom wall until after 4:00 this morning. Jim want down and set several traps this morning. It's that time of the year.  

I'm hoping to get a little long arming in before we leave but I'm not counting on it as I am working with Jim again this morning on loading a quilt top, measuring for the batting, and basting in. 

USPS Is Stupid

The encoder for DW was sent from Lansing last Tuesday. The previous day I sent Lia a birthday card to Germany. She's already gotten her card. I still haven't gotten the encoder. See, USPS is stupid!

Joyces quilt was finished on Bernie in the morning. The Labrador was started yesterday afternoon and last night, while Jim was talking Ben through raising the corner of his garage, I finished the lab up. I thought I took a pic of the quilting going in but apparently not.

Here's something I encountered yesterday though...

Oops. 

I fixed it as best as I could. Today I'll be working on this Halloween top that came in earlier this week...

A rush job for the holiday

Jim is loading another Wensleydale onto Marty. This next one is an E2E, which I sketched out on my iPad last night. Since DW can't 'drive' the motif, I'm going to kind of E2E and kind of custom do it. But first, the one on Bernie needs to be tackled. 

A lawyer has been hired to work on Jims work comp denial. He's furious with Jims company and what they are trying to get away with. Meanwhile, since the denial arrived, Jim's boss won't return his phone calls. According to the attorney, Jim should have been on disability after his ankle was pinned four years ago, and Jim is now, unofficially, retired. He's going to be assisting in the studio with all the time consuming steps to getting a quilt on and off the frame, while I concentrate on the actual quilting. 

Getting the Rhythm

Oft times it takes me a while, when working a quilt, to find my quilting rhythm. How to travel from here to there with minimal thread breaks. Or, as in yesterday, getting all the motifs stitched in so having to go back and fill what I missed is minimized. 

This is one of those spots where I finally got my rhythm...

Getting ready to put in the 1/4" echo

I missed this repeatedly when I first started. Probably because I was worried about ditching the area around the rectangle, which is also needed.

I timed myself to see how long it takes just to do one colored section of this quilt...

 Nearly 4 1/2 minutes

Which doesn't seem like much, does it? There are 11 colored sections in every other row. Let's round up and say it takes me five minutes. Times 11. That's nearly an hour per colored row. Now I have to advance the quilt to do the next row and baste everything down before I can even get started. 

This is why custom quilting takes so long. This is why I'm still working on Joyces quilt today. But by lunch time it should be finished. 

Here's what I'll be working on this afternoon...

Going to make this come to life

This is for a Hale guild member and she's going to be putting it on the wall. I think it's actually for one of her kiddos. 

The phone was hopping yesterday with well wishes from family and friends for my birthday. But, we received some disturbing news just before lunch in that the work comp claim for Jims fall two weeks ago was denied. Our neighbor, who used to work in HR at GM, gave a little advice, and Jim is going to be trying to get to the bottom of this today. 

Meanwhile, and for the time being, I'm the sole income now for us and wow does that put a lot of weight on my shoulders. But, that's life. We deal with it. We move on. It's not the first time we've been in a pinch and I'm sure it won't be the last either. We are the DeGroots after all and seem to have our share of events not fall in our favor. 

Happy Birthday To Me

Yep, today's my birthday. 61 years young and counting. I have a few wishes from folks via text, FB, and WhatsApp. I'm not sure why people do that on FB since I don't generally get on there, but the thought is nice and sweet.

To brighten the day

The flowers are from my mom and the card/gift card are from the A family. Jim and I are going out to celebrate this weekend since I have to work today.

Back to quilting. I may have a customer coming over to drop off but that's tentative. I'll be continuing on with Joyces quilt today and if I hunker down, may be able to get it done. I had a (check this out) three and a half hour long conversation with a lady from Alaska while I was working yesterday afternoon.

Not only did we discuss quilting and some tops she is looking to have quilted, but life discussions were also at the forefront. It was like I knew her all my life. I love making new friends and this was a pleasurable conversation that not only opened my eyes to a few things, but passed the time while I was working. 

The evening was spent at campfire with Bellers. It was a gorgeous night; no wind, clear skies, and the temps hung in the low 60's, so nothing in the way of piecing or cutting was done. I'm hoping the new encoder will arrive today so we can get DW back up and running. 

I've just ordered a new Dream batting to try for customers. I have a few who will not (will not, will not) let me put wool in their quilts, but would like the same definition wool provides in the quilting work. It's called Dream Puff and has the same (if not a bit more) loft as wool, but is a fine spun denier poly that is very warm and easy to quilt. I'm going to try it in one of my own tops first and then see what customers think. Off to work I go. 

Even Small Things Matter

While we were indeed gone ALL DAY yesterday, not arriving back home until after 9:00 last night, I did manage to get some pieces cut before leaving (my quilt fix for the day).

A few pieces cut

The good thing about funerals is seeing family and friends not often seen and getting caught up on life. Four of our grand kiddos were there and I managed to snag a pic of two of them...

Hannah

Elijah with Andrew (my eldest) in the background

Andrew did not bring his kids; these are two of Bens four. Andrew is my business manager and we actually touched on a few things while we were visiting after the service.

More on Joyces quilt today. Yep, that's about my day ahead, other than a new chair being delivered for Jim 

Funeral Day

We are headed downstate here in a few minutes but thought I could blog before we left. Putting together sandwiches didn't take as long as I had anticipated. 

I got my BOW done...

Need to post yet on FB

After that was completed, I loaded the VW bus onto Marty and started quilting that...

Cute!

After lunch I quilted some more and actually got it done. I pulled it off the frame and Jim had a ball game to watch so started working on the back part of the pillow. I put a zipper closure in the back so the exterior could be washed.

Andrew called on his way to Michigan and while talking to him, got the back done and then bound it. I had JUST enough stuffing to get the inside form made and here's the finished pillow...

A Christmas gift for Jims sister

I hope she likes it. After I finished that in the late afternoon, I turned to designing the strip quilt top for the QAL with Natalia Bonner. I think I have everything worked out and it's a good thing I did lay it down on graph paper because I would have did it wrong as I was thinking about it in my head. The fabric for the background strips is ironed and waiting for me to cut out. 

DW's encoder won't make it tomorrow as it is Columbus Day which means no mail delivery. GRR!

Interesting Phone Message

I didn't really expect to hear from anybody in Alaska when I handed my business card(s) out in Juneau. But last night, somebody from Palmer, AK reached out to me and has several tops that need to be quilted. I can't call her yet as they are four hours behind us, but will try later this afternoon.

Meanwhile, next week is my birthday. Mom and Jim took me out for a nice lunch yesterday up in West Branch (Lucky's) and then Jim and I headed over to Meijer to get items for this upcoming week as well as for the memorial service tomorrow for his sister. Here's the negative space quilting going into Joyce's quilt...

Per her request

Wow, has lunchmeat escalated in price! And cheese too! We don't eat that kind of stuff, so we were oblivious to what was happening there.

Today I'm puttering in the studio. I have the rest of my BOW to finish (I worked on it some last night after we returned home) and I want to quilt out the VW camper pillow top while Marty is free. DW is still down. It's kind of our Saturday and Sunday wrapped up into one because we'll be gone ALL DAY tomorrow so I'm not sure where things will progress. 

I did pick up some graph paper yesterday so I can draft the strip quilt I need to make for the Natalia Bonner class. Maybe I'll work on that too? I also have home work for my Quilters Groove Class, and I found my yo-yos when Bernadette and Cindy were here so I may refresh myself on how to use the yo yo maker and continue on with more of those. And, I could always pull out the stand mixer body and continue on with that project. Lots of options on this overcast and fall-like day. 

I Just Couldn't Wait

Ann's quilt was finished in the afternoon after Cindy and Bernadette left. It's so great talking to the girls and sharing quilting stories. And grand baby stories. And retreat planning. And, and, and...

Anywho. I moved over to Bernie to work on Joyces quilt after I raked up the garden to put it to bed for the winter. It's not entirely "to bed" as there are a few pepper plants still hanging in there with the frost not really affecting them too much. Yet.

This is the top that had to be moved over from Marty to Bernie so I could tackle the immediate need quilt for Ann, which was too big to put onto Bernie. 

Wensleydale by Jan Kingwell (I believe)

Here's what I'll be quilting into it...

These are the pieced blocks.

I'll get a pic of the negative space blocks in their entirety for tomorrows blog. While I was working on this I received this from the USPS...

From Missouri Star

These are for a quilt-along I'm doing over the winter (starting in January) with Natalia Bonner. She offered four panels from Honest Fabrics, but I'm not going there. I'll piece mine together (those panels are poly) with cotton and make it a full-sized quilt rather than four unusable panels. I have to draft how I'm going to put these together as they are not just sewn into rows but are staggered on the ends in placement. 

I was pretty much long-armed out by 4:30. Not feeling it yesterday (we all have days like that), and I think it's because this was sitting there behind me saying "Piece Me"! So I did. 

Now I have to quilt it

This looks smaller than it really is, which is about 22"x20"-ish. I may throw this on Marty for the weekend because DW's new encoder hasn't shown up yet, despite being sent out of Lansing on Monday. 

One customer expected today and I'll be working on Bernie all day. Jim is at his second doctor appointment about his fall last week to determine what they are going to do with him next. Hopefully just another week or two of rest will solve the problem. 

Minky. Love It...or Not

I love the feel of Minky (Cuddle, whatever you want to call it) for a quilt back. It quilts fairly well, other than being closely woven and it being 100% polyester. I can hear and feel the needle "thunk" as it stitches every stitch. But the quilting looks pretty awesome on the back of the quilt and it's forgiving for a few hiccups in my stitch path.

But, it stretches. Badly. And if it's not pieced together correctly leaving the stretchy ends parallel to the belly bar, I have to rely on the side clamps to take up the slack. That's not the optimal situation and I'm surprised I haven't run into any folds or pleats on the back of this quilt I'm working just for this very reason. And, I refuse (since it's a free service I provide) to trim the quilt when it's done. Too much poof leaving the backing and all over my studio.

I have one more day on Ann's quilt. 

Teeth are the absolute hardest to do!

Jim ran up to Erin Matthews for me yesterday to pick up this kit...

I'll be doing the yellow background on the right

I looked forward to starting on this so much yesterday and yet, I had to do as much on Anns quilt as I could, and then I had to put together the BOM for month four...

Month Four

After working and getting the BOM block put together all I managed to do was prep the fabric, sift through the pattern (Tilda patterns are a bit of a puzzle if you've never done one), and cut for the first of five sections. This is going to be a gift for Jims sister who had a VW van for a while. 

I have two customers coming today; one to pick up and another to discuss our Shipshewana retreat. Which I'm so excited to do this year since I won't be paying off [another] machine. 😉

Cat's Eyes and Other Halloween Things

This quilt, despite having a million borders (which take a lllloooonnnnggg time to work) has been very fun to quilt. I get to be creative and have to have my Halloween hat on while doing it. I have two versions of cats eyes going in here...

Siamese Eyes

I feel like the Siamese cat has more angular eyes and they are a little more sly looking. 

Regular cat eyes

Maybe you can see it better from the back?

Much easier to to see

I'm on this quilt again today. The spider webs and now the panel are taking a bit longer than anticipated. Jim is running to Erin Matthews quilt shop today to fetch a pattern/kit I ordered at the Oscoda quilt show. I don't think he can hurt himself too much driving and he didn't take his muscle relaxer yet so he's safe to go I think. My new phone case arrived yesterday and I LOVE it. Still waiting on my shipment from MSQC and Green Fairy (Jelly rolls and thread respectively). 

I knocked off the long arm around 6:00 and started cutting out for month four of the BOM. I have everything ready to go to piece together tonight. And fall weather has finally descended upon us. They are calling for a frost warning tonight. Hello turtlenecks and sweatshirts! 😍

Starting is the Hardest

I love, love, love it when customers give me basically free license to create quilting in their quilts. Here's the downside to that; figuring out cohesive and relevant items to get into the quilt based upon a short interview/consultation on who the quilt is for and a glimpse into the recipients personality/likes. 

I've gotten through almost all of the borders surrounding the panel but it took all day to figure out and get in what it is I wanted in there. And, of course, I couldn't make it easy on myself because that wouldn't have been the best decision on the direction the quilting needed to go.

Here's some of the quilting in Ann's quilt for her daughter (who loves Halloween but hates the color orange)...

Spider webs take a long time to plan and make

Here's some more...

Pumpkins in the outer border

So, I'm showing you the back because it showcases the quilting better than the front does. I'm using matching thread and that can get lost in the pics.

After working on this until the early evening, I moved over to piecing together month three of the BOM...

Month three

Those blocks (we're doing two of each) took me over an hour and a half to get together. I think this is one of the harder months, but I don't want to look ahead and feel deflated. More work on Anns quilt through most of our [finally] dreary typical fall day. I love quilting during overcast and rainy days!

Happy Fall Y'All

I spent yesterday not in the studio. Instead, I worked on the exterior esthetics making it a little more fall-like. 

Good morning

I have to remove Marges quilt from Bernie yet, but once that's done, I'll be getting into the one for Ann on Marty today. I have to find the next one in the queue that will fit onto Bernie to start frame ironing. I think the one we just pulled off of Marty to get this next one on will fit. 

Work or Play

When I say I'm going to be working in the studio, I mean just that. I have customer quilts to work. When I say I'm going to be playing in the studio, that means stuff just for me, not customers. 

I worked all day yesterday with some pauses in there to do other 'around the house' stuff. Marges quilt was finished around 4:00. 

After going down and visiting with the neighbors three doors to our north for a bit, I came home and started cutting out for the next BOM from the Creative Escapes retreat. In fact, until that one is done, I'm not starting any more BOM's, so when I say I'm working on the BOM, that's the one. 

Today I'm putting all this 'months' pieces together...

HST's...not my favorite

I think I have a total of 68 HST's there. Caleb and Lia called this morning and we talked to them for well over an hour. They are getting pretty excited about new babies arrival. Lia's mom is also coming for a visit next week. They've been prepping the guest room/bathroom for her stay. They are thankful to have their two quilts back her dad delivered a few weeks ago.

I ordered a new phone case for my iPhone. The one I have is a little too summery and so this one is one its way...

Not as summer-y as the current case

I tried to find a case quilt-related but none of them really struck me as "me". Off to go play. 

Working Today

It's going to be another unseasonably warm day today (high 80's) and I guess we're close to breaking some kind of record. But, I have to work in the studio today. 

I had a total of six drop offs yesterday and that took up all my morning. Jim got back from the doctors office and he's off work for at least the next week with many restrictions. One of those is standing for any amount of time. Groceries were on me. After I worked for a while in the studio, wanted to get that task out of the way so headed to West Branch to fetch our weekly chow. 

I wasn't in a long arming mood by the time I got home (early evening) so, instead, made my BOW. Here it is...

Looks a little washed up in this pic

In amongst all of that, Joyce's quilt had to be taken off Marty. One of the quilts that came in is a rush job and needed Marty to work this one since DW's encoder won't be here any time soon. How do I know this? We called Gall. Jason is on vacation. We called Handi Quilter. No orders received coming to the studio. So it's going to be a few weeks. At least. I still have many rows to go on the Bernie quilt, meaning that's what I'll be doing today. 

Here's the quilt I'll be working starting Monday...

For a girl who loves Halloween but hates the color orange

I've been given free licensing for what I want to get in here, but it does need to be custom work. That was my only parameter. 

Enjoying a Beautiful Autumn

The drive up and back to Hale yesterday was gorgeous. Temps peaked into the mid 70's and it was sunny all day long. The leaves have kind of slowed in their turning since our daytime temps have been pleasant. But there is still color out there, especially in the low lying areas along M-61. 

Jim was home early from work yesterday and then got called back into work so his DM could observe how Jim was walking. He took a tumble on a job on Tuesday and has been struggling since then to walk and not groan. He's going to the doctors office this morning so he's home with me now too.

Both of our appointments are at 9:00 but we can't ride in together as he may be going back to work. And, I have to run back here to receive a couple of rounds of customer visits throughout the day. Once I get done with Marges quilt on Bernie (hopefully that'll happen today), I'll be shifting over to work on Joyce's quilt on Marty...

Wensleydale pattern

This one is going to be custom quilted but I have another identical patterned top right behind this one for Mary that she wants E2E put in. I've sketched some things out and really, don't care for much of what I'm coming up with. Maybe it's time to hit SM and see what others have stitched out on this. 

See, not all of my job is just putting thread into quilts. There's a lot more to it and that's okay. I love all facets of what it is I get to do for a living. Happy Friday!

Gotta Be A Little Flexible

I was working on the quilt on Bernie yesterday morning. I took my lunch and while chowing down [another] rice bowl, received a text from Ann V. and she asked if she could come up today or tomorrow and drop off a few more quilts. 

Well, the previous one I did on Marty (Shop Hop) was for her and I was done frame ironing the backing for her QOV and asked if she could come Friday since that would give me today to quilt her quilt and get it ready for pick up.

I decided to flex a bit and just dive right into it yesterday. 

QOV

I didn't know what I was going to do in here and one never knows how long it's going to take to complete a project. It always seems like it should take less time and then before ya know it, hours have passed and you're only half-way through the project.

Here's what I decided to put into it...

Loopy Stars

Remember, my encoder is down in DW so I could not do any digital work on him and had to drive myself. Honestly, I'm twice as fast as the computer and I don't have to fiddle with realignment with every roll. It turned out beautifully and I was completely done just before 4:30 and frame ironing for the next one on Marty. I moved back over to Bernie and worked that quilt until I reached the half-way point and I was getting pretty fuzzy-eyed since I'd already been up for 13 hours. 

I have a short day today; guild meeting up in Hale and I need to attend because I have a block to turn in as well as getting information regarding our retreat in two weeks. 

I worked on my second BOM block for the second 'month' and finished that. I dove into starting the stand mixer cover and am pleased with patterns by Annie. Very complete. Very visual. 

Happy Autumn day today! Hasn't the weather here been beautiful? Summer-like temps in the day. Fall-like temps in the evening. Great campfire weather. Low bug level. Lots of sun since our rains have yet to show themselves. It's almost like we're living back in AZ. 

Ya Never Know

I hadn't expected anybody over yesterday, but lo and behold, a customer called right before lunch and asked if she could come get her quilts. Well, of course! 

Good thing I don't dress in my "play" clothes during the week while I'm open.

Wow, am I tired this morning. It's that time of the year. The time when all the rodents think our house is open for their wintering over. I had one scrabbling/chewing in the wall at the foot of my bed since about 4:15 this morning. For some reason they always end up there. 

I mentioned to Jim a few weeks back that traps had probably get set because they were going to start infiltrating the house. See how that went?

I'm going to try to function today. I'm so fuzzy headed and lethargic and I'm not a napper. If I nap, it's going to be for a few hours, not just 10 or 15 minutes or I feel worse. Actually, I feel worse no matter the length of the nap I take. 

Here's some of the quilting going into the one on Bernie...

All straight lines

After I got done working for the day, I headed outside to talk to the neighbors. Joe came down and welded the angle iron back onto the end of the dock to keep those boards in. Wayne came down and visited for a bit while they were working. Jim ended up grinding down the rough spots after a short lesson on how to weld from Joe. They also inserted some weep holes into the two main pipes holding up the dock since ice likes to form in there and push up and then break our dock boards. Which is what started all of this in the first place. 

Once that was finished and we gave generous hugs all around for the efforts, I headed back in to start on my next set of BOM's (month two). Here is the first one. That took a lot longer than I had anticipated. I'll work on the second one maybe tonight. 

OMG, that mouse is in that wall right now just chewing away having his own little party. Meanwhile, he's in there pooping and peeing all over in my house. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!