Mixed Up

I said on my Thursday post that we needed to go downstate tomorrow . I thought Thursday was Friday. Oops. We actually spent yesterday on the road doing a plethora of errands and enjoying family at our grandsons 2nd birthday party. 

On Friday night, this was put onto the frame...

Jane B.'s beautiful top

I've already started putting the first border in and will continue tomorrow. Sunday (reminder) is a non-customer quilting day. 

First border in

One of the stops we had to hit yesterday was to Gall Sewing. I needed to return a cone of thread and a bobbin that was left on/in DW last time he went down for service. Jason was not there but I did talk to Virginia about some new leaders for DW and the purchase of the second long arm. She wasn't aware of anything Jason and I had discussed so we'll leave that for another day. I did get two additional marking tools while we were there. 

The weather today is gorgeous and Jim and I (after picking up the girls and going to pancake breakfast with Luann and Everett) have spent the remainder of the day cleaning up flower beds and getting ready for spring. We were going to move one of our little trees into a new area in the yard, but found the ground where the tree is located still frozen. That too, will be left for another day.

Piecing? What's That?

Because the girls were pretty sedate yesterday, I was able to long arm a full eight hours and had some time left in the day to actually put together my latest Cotton Cuts BOM...

Month #9

While I was on the phone yesterday afternoon with a customer, I rolled the quilt forward on the frame I'm currently working and noticed this...

Hmmm????

Well, after further inspection, realized there was a large amount of stiffness and perhaps some glue(?) holding this seam together. 

I'll ditch what I can, but there is a slight possibility this part of the bead board won't get quilted. I'm not going to risk (again) throwing my machine out of time. It's too costly and puts me behind another 2-4 days. 

I understand having to repair tops. I have done the same in the past. But I hope anybody who looks at this quilt later is told what the situation is on why the quilting isn't consistent (if that's what it comes down to). 

Music

I listen to music (mostly) in the studio every day when I'm working. I almost can't quilt without it. But there is other music in my life; music just as sweet to my ears. The hum of the long arm, the birds singing outside the studio windows, the geese coming back and resting on the lake in their travels, or the sound of Jim's ring tone when he texts me to tell me he'll be home for lunch today. 

When did you last listen to the music surrounding you?

Here's what's on the frame today...

Onita's "cheater" top

And somebody commented on a recent IG post I had about showing the quilting I've put into the quilts on the previous day. I thought I was pretty good at that, but apparently I need to get better. Here's a little of what Donna's quilt received yesterday...

Got Feathers?

We have a birthday party to attend down in Lansing so there will be no quilting tomorrow. Unfortunately. I'll have to make up for it maybe Sunday? Just when I thought I was getting caught up I had three more tops come in this week so I need to keep at it full steam while I can. 

Little "Helper"

While I was trimming Donna's quilt last night, my little "helper" decided to join in. 

"I'm trying to nap Mom!"

I moved her three times and she kept returning to her spot. Jim had to rescue me from her persistence. 

This is what's on the frame this morning...

Donna's second top

This is getting special border treatments, but an E2E on the main body inside. It's pouring outside making this a great day to work inside. Except, I have to wander next door to open up the house since it's also Orkin day. That'll be fun. 😡

Interesting Story

I don't like to bash those who are in the same industry as I am. Here's what's on the frame today...

Donna's Quilt

Notice I didn't say quilt top in the caption? About a quarter of this quilt is completed. And the previous long armer took over a year to get that far. I wasn't sure why since what she started putting into it isn't all that time consuming or difficult. 

Then Jim and I loaded it onto the frame and figured out why the previous quilter didn't want to work any further on it. Again, I'm not going to pass judgement, so we just fixed the issue(s) the previous quilter created and I'm on my way to successfully completing this for a very patient new client.

There is much more to the story than what I'm sharing here, but if you really want to learn all about how to select the correct long armer and how to deal with long armers that seem rather difficult, let me know. I'll share this story with you and you can make your own decisions. 

Meanwhile, I had planned on working on my Cotton Cuts BOM (that came in the mail last Friday) last night because the dogs seemed rather sleepy yesterday and actually let me long arm during the day, but it just wasn't to be. Maybe tonight? 

Spring Cleaning

I've started removing extraneous items from the studio. Slowly though. This is to prepare for what I hope will be a second long arm at the end of the summer. 

Jim and I had errands to do on Saturday morning. Customers were in and out in the early afternoon and then we basically vegged the remainder of the day. But Friday afternoon I was able to get past the half-way point on Ila's Picnic top and here is some [more] quilting...

More quilting detail

I'll work on this all day today. We have more snow coming down, so it's a peaceful Monday to work. If I could just convince Lucy of that I'd have it made!

A Quick Check-In

I have appointments all morning. The first one is out of the house, and the remaining appointments are here with customers. 

Here's some of what Ila's quilt is getting put into it...

Top, left corner

Along the top

This is so much fun to work on because I get to use motifs and rulers a normal bed quilt would not be getting put into it. This is going to take two more days to complete because of the intense planning. 

And a miracle solution of puppy accident removal: Vinegar, water, and baking soda. Gets most of the stain out of the first time and all of the smell!