I'm Going to Utah!

My long arm machine is a Handi Quilter Fusion. His name is DW. DW and I entered a contest to win a trip to the Handi Quilter headquarters in Salt Lake City last month. Guess who won?

Amongst the thousands of entries they received, I was one of 12 who was chosen to go in March! I still can't believe it and I was notified a few weeks ago. I couldn't tell anyone because they haven't released it to the public yet, but now I'm able to do so. I'm pinching myself almost daily because it still doesn't seem real.

Hazel is now 22 weeks old. Here she is on her weekly birthday yesterday, enjoying more mud.

Look at me mom! I LOVE the mud!

What have I been doing in the studio the past week? Lots and lots! But again, I didn't want to disrupt the Project Quilting story, so haven't posted.

Tristan's Fire Engine top is completed.

Stripe Me Happy

Strip me Happy top is completed.

I have pulled off the Seasonal Silhouette from the long arm to put on and take off, two customer quilts.

Still needs to be stuffed

I made a turtle.

I made a bag.

For my Utah Trip

Aunt Lil is "roughed in" with the borders yet to go,

Aunt Lil

and I'm still trying to decide what to do about this weeks' Project Quilting challenge piece. I may have to skip this one since I'm coming up with about nothing that I can do well in the next few days.

Here is a better (not muddy) pic of our little girl being not so little anymore.

She likes to sleep by the back door now. I think she's waiting for dad to get home. 

Free Motion Woes

It's hard to get into something really intense when an 18-week old puppy as cute as Hazel is, wants, and needs, your attention.

Hazel has been very demanding the past two days and it's hard to dive into something for any length of time. At this point however, there are options.

Short snippets of piecing (such as Stripe Me Happy flying geese) is option number one. Researching items needed or techniques/classes on the wish list is option number two. Making a video for Handi Quilter to maybe?? win a chance to get to Utah for a long arm retreat is option number three. Or just wandering aimlessly around the house cleaning and putzing is option number four.

All options were exercised the past 24 or so hours. The video was submitted yesterday. I have found a class on Craftsy for a double wedding ring pattern using paper piecing for Caleb and Lia's wedding quilt. The house sparkles (except for maybe the windows and a little dusting here and there), and the second set of flying geese needed for border #3 are in progress.

Today is starting out to be much of the same.

But who can resist this cute face?

Hello!

Until I receive more batting (ordered on-line because nobody around here seems to have any wool at an affordable price), I am at a long-arm stand still. 

My Janome Horizon (Mike) is being a wiener about free motion quilting those placemats, even though he's been in for service about this very issue (shredding thread in certain directions). After I get what's partially loaded onto and done on DW, I'll finish the placemats on DW rather then struggling with Mike. It's just not worth the hot flashes and prolific language slinging to fight with a machine that has clearly decided it no longer wants to do one of the functions it's supposed to do.

So that leaves my other Janome 1800 (Jay) to piece flying geese, or anything else tugging at my tails, on today. I have three other machines. Two are old, old, old and don't have the ability/feet to try to free motion, and the other machine (Brother Innova Laura Ashley---aptly named Laura) has been tried in the past to free motion with very little success. So ya just make what ya got available work.

Onward, Ho! 

Plodding Along

I spent all of yesterday trying to get these first two borders in. Only two more to go.

Two more borders to go

As promised...

Here is Hazel at 18 weeks.

18 weeks yesterday

I think she's going to be a bit bigger then the 40 or so pounds we were expecting. Jim is guessing she's over 30 pounds right now. 

I watched a YouTube video on a golden doodle named Theo who is Hazels twin, I swear. And her growth is exactly matching his. As well as many of her personality traits. They are such kind and loving dogs and Theo was much larger then 40 pounds so I think we are in store for more of a big dog at maturity rather then a medium dog we had expected. Which is fine. Size wasn't a consideration. It would just be nice to be in the know for the future. 

Menopause Sucks!

Just sayin'. Hot flashes. Sleepless nights. Acne. Mood Swings. I feel like I'm back into the puberty years.

Despite all the physical changes happening to the body, we march on.

During the week, after getting my HOPE challenge done, I've pictorially recorded what I've been up to so I would remember what it was when I blogged again. I didn't know if later blogs would "bog" down the HOPE votes, so I didn't post for a few days to avoid voting confusion.

These two go together. I'm (finally) using a solids jelly roll I've had for a while

Beginning a few placemats

Dream Big

The last entry was loaded and started yesterday. Here's a better pic of what was completed before closing up for the night.

Love the texture

I'll work on all of these this week, as well as the Stripe Me Happy top. The sashing strips have been added all around and Katie figured out how to get the flying geese in the remaining three border strips that need to be added. I love Katie! But before those three flying geese borders are added, a narrow border needs to be put on to separate the two. This sure is one busy top I'm making!

The last sashing strip was set into the Tula 100 Blocks top, and now it's ready to head to the long arm...once the Dream Big panel is completed.