Happy 82nd Mom

Moms birthday was yesterday. She's now 82. This morning she's at Urgent Care complaining of stomach pain. She has diverticulitis and yesterday ate things like beef, sausage, and other foods not compliant with her diverticulitis diet. I wonder why she has stomach pains? 😖

I knocked off early so we could head into town and deliver her a floral bouquet and a card. We also stayed and visited for a while so didn't get back home until well after 6:30.

I called the cousin yesterday morning to let her know my travel plans next week. When she called back we were at moms and didn't having billing info for her yet; had to deal with that right away upon our return.

From there I cut batting and got Hannah's quilt ready to start on later tonight. 

Sandy's quilt did not get done because of the florist hours (they closed at 4:00) and other quick tasks Jim needed to take care of prior to normal studio hours. I'm starting early today to make up for it, but Sandy's Tilda Sampler will be done today. 

After working around the house Saturday morning and making fish tacos for lunch (Jim was late getting home from Food Bank), I headed finally headed into the studio. 

The first order of business was to get the cousin quilt finished. 

I need to call her and let her know I'll be coming through Charlotte a week from today for her to have.

Next, get Hannah's backing onto DW and start frame ironing. Okay. That's started.

What to do next? I can't really start anything big (my rules) until all the Christmas gifts are finished. But, I do need a Christmas bow to put on the studio door in a few weeks. We always decorate on Thanksgiving night. 

That may change this year. The grandkids usually help to decorate and they aren't coming up until the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The house will be lit though. I hope. 

Here is my start on the Christmas bow...

And of course, yesterday was a non-studio day. We ran to Wal-Mart and Home Depot up in West Branch looking for pillow inserts for Hannah and Penelopes pillows as well as window film. We struck out on both accounts. 

Today I hope to finish Sandy's Tilda Sampler on Marty. I have a 12/1 deadline in the queue I should probably tackle next and get started on that before heading down south. So. Much. Pressure! It's not the only December deadline I have and UGH, it keeps me awake at night. 

After Visiting

We had a delightful visit with mom and Chad yesterday. Tried the new Char House restaurant in Gladwin. Great food but freezing in the place; it was 44 degrees outside and yet the radiators in the old structure were stone cold. 

Once we were done with lunch we headed home via Pieces of Thyme. The original backing I got for the cousin quilt was too small by only a couple of inches so found a perfect back in flannel instead. Got that loaded on DW and am just doing an E2E on it.

After one pass and happy DW's stitch regulator is working after having taken all the computer components off, I was back in on Christmas gifts. The girls' pillows are sewn and all I need are the inserts. 

I also got caught up on the Temperature quilt blocks but had to go back and rip a few seams because I forgot the monthly placeholder between October and November. With that fixed I cut more green strips for our garland and then started gridding out fusible for another big [holiday] bow. I could have bought the premarked stuff but am watching the pennies before Shipshe. 

Once that was done I started pulling fabrics to begin cutting today. I'll be working on the bow at retreat and need to cut all the 2 1/2" blocks before I leave. Cutting here is much easier than trying to talk and cut there. 

I was on the phone with the Germany kids this morning for over an hour so I"m blogging late since after the phone conversation (and shower) decided the bathrooms all needed a good scrubbing. Now I can play the rest of the day. 

Visiting with Family Today

My brother is up from Cincinnati. I only get to see him about twice a year meaning we're taking today off to go visit him at moms house. 

I have made exceptional progress on Sandy's quilt and worked well after quitting time. From there I blanket stitched the two grand-girls' pillow tops and then made the backing for each of them.

Blanket stitch detail

I made zippered backs for each of the boys' pillows. Boys naturally don't take care of their stuff so I'm assuming the pillows will be all over the house without regard to dirt. The girls' pillows are getting an envelope back so they can still take off the cover to launder. I nearly broke a needle doing the zippers for the boys and the new zips I purchased (on line) are more for heavier projects like jackets. Not pillows.

Just watching the game

Jim's new Spartan fleece throw is getting good use and Lucy finds it very snuggly as you can see. She was watching the game with dad and I couldn't resist getting a quick pic of her in all her cuteness. 

Jim Has a Busy Day

My day will be here working on Sandy's quilt. Jim, on the other hand, has plenty to do today. Dentist and food pantry stuff will keep him busy all afternoon. 

Because he needs the truck and I don't get back from Hale until well after 1:30 I won't be heading up for our monthly meeting. Again.

Once back yesterday I didn't really have a game plan in mind other than lunch. Once that was done and I got out into the studio I was super focused on getting Tristans pillow done. 

Hope he likes it!

Now for the girls. Hannah still has a quilt coming with her pillow but why I was making templates and getting fabric out to do Penelopes pillow I decided to do both of them in tandem.

The applique is adhered but both still need blanket stitching. I'm going to purchase pre-made pillow forms for these instead of making my own like I did the other four. They were an odd size. These are going to be 20" square. 

So here's where the Christmas situation is currently. I need to finish the two pillows above and I need to get the cousin quilt quilted and all the other stuff that goes with that. Then Hannah's quilt needs to be loaded and quilted. Except for Hannah's quilt, I'm hoping to get all the other stuff done before next weekend. I want them off my to-do list before I head to Shipshewana. 

And, I have two Holiday deadlines looking at my on the business end of things; one before December 1st. Once the Tilda Sampler is done I think I'm going to have to park Sandy's other top to the side until the holiday things get finished. She's in no hurry so yay!

DW Is Stripped

Off to skate with my getting-to-know-you "geezer" friends. I am past the half-way point on Sandy's Tilda Sampler. I haven't grabbed any pics because, well, we've seen this quilt so many times previously. 

I did get Elijah's quilt bound and here is the set he'll be receiving for Christmas. 

While I was working on Marty yesterday, Jim was working on this project at the other end of the studio. 

The carriage drives the motors for the ProStitcher

A naked machine

He has removed the ProStitcher off DW. I don't use it. I don't like. I don't have control and it adds a LOT of weight to my free motion work. 

I haven't tested him out yet to make sure we have all the necessary connections for the stitch regulator, but I'm sure it'll be okay. 

I also started Tristans pillow top. Jim assisted on the color selections and this is what we came up with. 

Election Day

Please go vote. If you don't, it provides a vote for somebody you may not want to get elected. Although, I am the most unpolitical person you could probably meet, I have morals and obligations as a U.S. citizen to uphold the right to vote. And keep this country I've vowed to protect, safe. 

I was finally able to get my first roll in yesterday on Sandy's Tilda Sampler quilt. I was kind of out of it yesterday so was working in slow motion. Jim threw up last night so I'm wondering if we had a little bug? Thankfully, we feel fine this morning. 

Elijah's pillow is done (see above) and his quilt is half bound. I have the back side attached and will hopefully attach the front tonight. Once we get done voting this morning I'll have a regular work day ahead. And, the temps today: High of 74. This is November, right?