I Figured a Few Hours...At Most

I didn't thing we'd be out in the garage but for only a few hours at best. Six hours later with two of us working and only taking two breaks (my phone overheated and died during one forced break), we were able to get through all 16 totes. So far, a total of 112 quilts have been labeled, measured, photographed, and folded to bet sent to Rayola.

It was good seeing my old friends again coming out of those totes. I got cranky through about a 1/3 of the way through the project because it was becoming personal to me. 

Amongst the sorting process, I had to wash and lay out in the lawn (between two sheets) the quilts Caleb and Lia left behind for me to deal with for them. They smell so fresh now and one needs repair, but I'll get to that tomorrow.

Here's a few more of the quilts donated yesterday...

Jim and I are running to Elm Creek this morning. They are having a Labor Day sale. There is something for both of us; Jim in the gardening center and me in the quilt shop. Because, you know, I need to make more quilts, right?

We did end up keeping about four totes worth of quilts behind. Most of them were art pieces or weird quilts nobody else would want. Some of them were personal to me (my addresses and a t-shirt quilt) and others were just too big (king-sized). We did keep back one baby quilt for the "little" kids as well as one couch quilt that would make a nice wedding or something or another gift. 

I'll keep posting quilts to the blog that I captured on my phone. I had to use Jims after mine died and he doesn't back up to the Mac but rather his iPad. 

Donation Day

Here is some more eye candy on the Tilda Samplers...

I worked until past 8:00 last night and still have one more row to go, plus a filler block. Maybe on Monday or Tuesday these two will be done? After long arming, while Jim was watching our first Spartan football game of the season, I made the binding for the Farmers Daughter quilt. That will be donated as well and need to get it done. 

I had to clean and rearrange the loft upstairs this morning which is why I'm blogging so late. The grandkids' bookshelves were a disarray of art supplies, books, and a few games. Not to mention dusty as all get out. 

Once I got that done, my shower taken, everything put away that another shelf up there was purged from, I started in on the donation log/labeling. The first five are ready for pick up...

#4-Happy Camper

#1-Pastel Skates

#5-Rainbow X's and O's

#3-Rainbow Chevrons

#2-Cute Monsters

I'm very sad to see these go. Making a quilt sometime takes longer than making a child and I love them just about as much as a child. But they aren't doing any good here. I have to keep telling myself this. Somebody may (or may not) appreciate them but once they are picked up next week, I have to hope they bring a kiddo some joy and comfort during their trying time. 

Jim's at a township meeting and after lunch we'll start tackling the quilts in the garage. These five were just hanging around here in the house waiting to head to a tote for storage. The Gravity and Town and Country quilts were spared donation. There are a few I will NOT part with and these two made the cut so far. 

Happy Labor Day Weekend

I'll be working on Monday, but I will not be open. I have these two quilts that are taking soooo long to complete and I feel like they need to just get done. I have at least two days worth of work yet to go. The hardest block (the bee) is probably on today's venue which will take an hour or more each because of all the marking that needs to happen to make it come to life. 

Here's some more quilting eye candy...

I don't know what's going on with Blogger, but it decided to place this photo on the left today.

I had not two, but three ladies in yesterday to drop off a total of seven tops. Yup, Seven. Thankfully there's  no hurry to get them done.

While I was working on Marty/Bernie I got the next back on DW frame ironed and this is what is sitting in wait...

I LOVE this quilt!

I would normally do a custom treatment on this, but since I'm giving away all 'under king-sized' quilts, this will now be an E2E. And it's funny how all of a sudden I'm surrounded by pastel colors on all three machines.

Jim and I have no plans this weekend with the exception of going through totes in the garage. 

Rayola

My life this week seems to be like a shampoo bottle; lather, rinse, repeat. Here's some more of the quilting going into the two Tilda Samplers...

Not originally in here

This was originally just a cross-hatch, but I wanted to try a new stencil I got a few years ago. Yep, it took me this long to give is a whirl. It's a pain to work, but so worth the effort!

When I moved over to Bernie in the afternoon, I found this...

Fabric too short

I had to give it a good amount of thread to keep it from coming apart later. Once I was finished on the work quilts, I shifted over to DW and stitched this out...

Part of a Farmers Daughter

I started the Farmers Daughter and then lost interest. This is about as far as I got with it. Here's what I put in...

A loose flower-y swirl

I got the small wall hanging bound I finished yestreday while DW was doing his thing...

Notice the embellishments?

I have now this hung in the studio bathroom. After the Farmers Daughter was done stitching I got it all trimmed and ready for binding...

Gotta find some binding for this now

And I'm frame ironing for the next quilt going onto DW. I'll continue doing that while working on Marty this morning. At some point later today, I have two customers coming to drop off five new tops. Thankfully, she's not in any hurry to get them back. It's a good thing because it'll be a while.

One more thing to report; Jim and I have decided that anything under a king-size quilt will be donated to Rayola. With the exception of those very dear to me (365, Town and Country, etc.). We are going to sort those out this weekend since it doesn't seem there's anything else going on during the holiday. Hopefully, it won't be too hot out there in the garage going through all of those totes. 

RIP Teresa

We got news yesterday morning that Jims sister Teresa passed around 10:30 in the morning. She's had a 2 1/2 year battle with cancer and just as one mass disappeared, shortly after another would surface. The last one was in her brain. She lived in Tennessee but there will be a Michigan service later this fall. She will be laid to rest next to Jims dad in Olivet. 

Teresa and I didn't get along particularly well. She was a "Christian" but laid judgement towards me at virtually every turn for one thing or another. A few years ago, she and I got into a physical altercation at our home downstate and I never recovered from that. I am just glad she's no longer suffering. Nobody should have to suffer like she did no matter the circumstances or relationship with others. 

The house was very cold this morning. Near 60 degrees and it's because it got down to the low 40's last night; the lake was even steaming this morning.  Jim cranked the main house furnace on and then I went out to the studio to plug in the iPad and it was nearly 60 out there too. Not living in a cold house. I cranked up that furnace for a spell just to get the chill off. I'll turn it off once it's done cycling. 

But the first furnace burn is the first smell of autumn this year. I love it!

So, I got caught up on Marty where I was at on Bernie and here's some of the quilting going into either one...

I believe all three of these are actually on Marty, but the one on Bernie is getting the same treatment long-arm-wise.

And, more of the same today. I am expecting one customer to come and drop off later this afternoon. Yep, that's my day today. Whee!

After working on the "work" boys, I moved over and finished out the Sewing wall hanging on DW...

This one is quilted and I'll probably bind tonight

I was waiting for the marks to disappear before binding this, so once that was trimmed and sitting in wait, I started loading the next back for the next top of mine. I had to piece the backing first before loading it, which wasn't a big deal.

While frame ironing that back, I worked on my Tilda piece. I did get section three of the "A" section done. This quilt is taking me a lot longer to make than I thought it would, but I'm okay with that. I'm not in any hurry to have something more to long arm. Although it would be nice to have it on the wall. 

Tilda in Tandem

Well, that'll probably happen today. The one on Marty has to "catch up" to the one on Bernie, but here's some of the quilting going in, not that this hasn't been seen before...

I'm not going to even comment because these are repeats of months past. After working until past 5:00 I jumped onto Mike to finish the binding on the Gravity quilt. It's all finished and folded and put away.

From there I got onto DW and did some stitching on my next wall hanging...

Leaving the paper piecing alone

I'm quilting around the paper pieced motifs because, honestly, they aren't that big and I'm putting a lot of thread around them.

Once I got the second row finished, I decided to work on my Tilda piece a bit on the sewing machine. Around 8:00 I started getting tired and my ear was starting to really bug me, so shut down for the night.

And my ear is still plugged this morning. I have a feeling I'm going back into the med center tomorrow to discuss this with them since my abx are only two more days worth. More on Marty and perhaps Bernie today working in the Tilda Samplers. 

Cooler Temps, Better Working!

It looks like signs of autumn are starting to show. Leaves are starting to lighten, cooler temps at night, and today's high isn't even supposed to reach 70. I love autumn and it's perfect quilting weather. 

I did get two of the three pieces bound yesterday...

Isn't Lewis so cute?

Already on the design wall!

I started the binding on Gravity...

Half done

And that's as far as I got before having to stop and make lunch. I talked to mom yesterday while working on this binding and she did a cow similar to what I did on Saturday assisting with an art class in Beaverton. Weird, huh?

I have one customer expected and she's picking up while I'm working on both Bernie and Marty. Oh, what's on Marty? Let me show you...

[Another] Tilda Sampler

I think I'm going to work these in tandem. It will eliminate me from having to constantly refer back to the photos of the original I did and these gals want them both quilted the same as the original. This one on Marty, however, is double batted, so there will be a little more of a challenge there. I haven't actually "loaded" it yet, it's just waiting for me to start getting thread in. Happy Monday. 

What Time Alone Can Accomplish

I did not go with Jim down to his class reunion. I had some goals and wanted to accomplish those with my afternoon off.

The morning was spent working and here's what Linda's quilt had put into it...

Dino tracks

When I opened up her stick to pull off this motif (she usually provides the motif she wants), it was not this motif but rather puppy dog tracks. She left a "mock up" sheet with how dense she wanted the quilting and thankfully the information about where she purchased the motif was on the mock up. I purchased it for her on my own stick and got everything straightened out.

Dinosaur quilts need dino tracks, not puppy tracks

Once I had her quilt off, trimmed, billed, and put away, I was able to work on some of my stuff. First. A cow. A thoughtful customer brought me this raw edge appliqué and so I started working on that...

Moo

This will be a Christmas present for my middle son who adores cows.

Next up...

Just some straight lines

I did not blanket stitch this down nor did I do any kind of stitching on the appliqué. I instead opted to leave it kind of raw and just decided to hold it down with some straight line quilting. Both of these are getting bound today, as well as the Gravity quilt that's been sitting in my guest chair for weeks now. 

So today is binding day. Bleh. However, I do have another small top on DW ready to be quilted if I so choose later this afternoon. I don't know that I want to sit around and watch movies all day today; I have too much to do.

I did get this next wall hanging onto DW but haven't a clue how I'm going to quilt it...

A sewing sampler

Oh, and I did work on my Tilda blocks a little bit as I was frame ironing the backs for the wall hangings. I have the top of the pin cushions done and they are all bundled with their counterparts until I can work on those again. 

Campfires

During my nail appointment yesterday, all the girls were talking about autumn and how this summer has been such a hot one; we're ready for fall-like things. Like campfires, the crunch of leaves, the smell of the rain, cozy socks and leggings, boots, and sweatshirts. 

Oddly, Kathy texted last night that she was having a campfire down at the "beach" and asked to join. We spent a few hours down there, but Mike wasn't feeling all that great, so we called it a night even before 11:00. 

Here is what is next up on DW since I finished Sue L.'s quilt last night...

Linda's Dinosaur top

This is getting an edge to edge and I'll be working on starting it this morning. I had to cut Jim's hair first and get some chores done around the house. Now that all those are finished I can head into the studio to see what kind of mischief I can get into. 

Oh, I had to run to Pieces yesterday to pick up a pinching cutter for thread. It didn't solve my problem, but why I was there, picked up this kit to work on during my Shipshewana retreat...

A cute Raven kit

Alaska has a LOT of Ravens and thought this would be easy and fun to work on to commemorate (one of two I'm planning on making) our Alaska trip. They have kits on sale over there and took advantage. P.S. My ear is still plugged. 

Unexpected Pick Up

I had a customer who called yesterday out of the blue to come and pick up her quilt. I wasn't expecting her to call so soon after I had contacted her, but it was a welcome surprise.

Judy's second quilt is done and she'll be here later today to fetch both of them. Meanwhile, I'm working on Sue L.'s quilt on DW. Here's some of the quilting going into that...

Framing in the animals

Right from the start I noticed a problem. We have an unfinished seam...

Easily fixed

I took a quick slightly-over-the-ditch stitch to remedy this situation. All better. Once I return from my nail appointment this morning I'll continue on with this one while frame ironing on Marty. Then, I'm done with eminent deadlines! I can take my time on Marty and Bernie while setting DW up to do two digitized designs for Linda next week. 

Happy Friday. I can't believe we've been back from Alaska almost two weeks now. I still have a plugged up set of ears, but hopefully the Abx are going to kick in soon. It's not as painful as it was two days ago, but annoying talking through a tin can. 

Getting Mixed Up

I had a customer come to pick up two of her quilts yesterday and I could have swore she said she'd be in the area next week (the last Wednesday). But, she called and came yesterday instead. I thought I had two more customers coming today to drop off. That's not until next week.

I've been pretty screwed up since the cruise. This dumb ear infection and whatever it was I brought back from Alaska is messing with me. 

Meanwhile, I just park myself in front of my machines and do my thing. I'll just take the customers as they come and go until I get back in my right mind.

Here is some of the quilting going into Judy's second quilt...

A huge border!

Andrew called last night on his way home from work. Thank goodness for AirPods because I was able to chat with him while I continued to work. And Jim was mowing right next to the window on the west side of the studio and I could still hear Andrew and work at the same time.

Once I get this one above finished later today, I'll be moving to this one on DW...

Sue's Woodland Animals

This one is the last one of the "eminent" needs quilts. This one is going to show and needs to be done ASAP. That's why it's on DW. I can't afford the time to diddle around waiting for backs to be frame ironed. Even after this one is finished, I still can't put one of mine on him because I have two digitized tops to do for customers. Ah, well, at least business is good!

On Abx

Yep. I got an ear infection so now I'm on Amoxicillin to try to clear this thing up. 

Meanwhile, I worked on Sue's quilt until my truck returned from Webberville and after lunch. Jim and I ran to Urgent Care (my regular doctor couldn't get me in until today) and then to get my prescription filled. Jim received a disturbing phone call while we were at Urgent Care. Apparently his eldest sister has taken a bad turn.

Here's where I left off with Sues quilt last night after returning from town and working for a few more hours... 

Nearly there

I have a LOT of work to do in the big negative spaces first, and then I can start tackling the last border.

I'm hoping to be done this morning and then I can move over to Judy's baby quilt on Marty maybe later this afternoon. 

Looks like the new neighbor may be moving in (two doors down to the south), but I had a thought about the loud and grungy looking truck that's been in and out. Maybe he's a painter? Or, a construction guy and not the actual new neighbor? Hopefully! He's not leaving a good impression thus far having thrown gravel on our road and racing up and down the drive. 

Feel Like Crying

I let Judy know her quilt would be nearly done this week and she reminded me (I had indeed forgotten) that there is another one due by 9/8. Can I catch a break? I'm working so many hours and I just feel like I'm going backwards. 

I have a tendency to ride this horse called I-want-to-please-everybody and I'm finding my limits. Not to mention, my Alaska sickness had turned into a full-blown ear infection. It's throwing off my balance and my ear has so much pressure built up in it it's making all sounds extraordinarily projected. The right one is worse than the left.

I can't run into the med center this morning because Jim has my truck. Maybe this afternoon?

I'll be working on Sue W.'s quilt most of the morning. Since I have another week before Judy's is due and Sue's is due sooner, I need to get it done, but here's the next one up on Marty for Judy...

Cute appliqué baby quilt

While I was working last night getting Judy's first quilt finished, Jim was putting up peaches and peach jam!

Yum!

Rainy this morning and we need it, so it's a welcome addition to the day. It's supposed to clear off by this afternoon which will make my trip into town so much better. 

Half-Way Point

I'm at the half-way point on both of these big quilts I'm working. I chipped away at Sue W.'s on Saturday before customers came and then again later that afternoon. 

Yesterday, despite my vowing to never work on Sunday, I chipped away some more on Judy's quilt on Marty. 

No new pics to share but I'll be working Judy's quilt now until it's done. She has another one to bring me and would like to do it in one swoop. Actually, I have another small one of Judy's in queue, but there is no deadline on it right now, so that one will have to wait. 

Sure wish this "bug" I caught in Alaska would leave me. I can't seem to shake this thing and it's causing me extreme lethargy and a plugged up ear. I think, if it's not gone by mid-week, I'll be hauling my butt to the med center to see what they think. 

Customer Today

I have an appointment for a customer to come and drop off this morning. This is a show quilt that has to be done asap. Of course. The show is about a month away, but I have to get one of the machines free to be able to work on it.

Here's some more quilting going into the one on DW...

Continous Curve in the diamonds

The "big" square

The ProStitcher, once again, is doing all the channeling. I'm doing all the rest. More on this one today until the customer arrives. 

We have lunch plans with another customer/friend at noon and then we have to run into town and do a little grocery shopping for items we forgot last night and to start searching for a new mattress/box springs. That's a whole other story for another day. 

Chugging Along

The boys are behaving so well. I only had two thread shreds yesterday in total, which is saying something!

Here's some of the quilting going into Judy's quilt...

The log cabin blocks

The bear paw blocks

I'm keeping this pretty loose, because given its size, it's not going to be a wall hanging but rather a bed quilt which we want to keep snuggly.

Here's some of the quilting going into Sue W.'s quilt...

Just getting started in the "big" areas

I'm letting the ProStitcher do the channeling because to run a straight line that far is a certain recipe for disaster. I then free motioned in the feathers myself. 

More of the same today, although Jim mentioned going grocery shopping tonight, so I won't be working as long on both of these. Judy's will be this morning and then Sue's this afternoon. We haven't shopped since before we left two weeks ago and the fridge is looking pretty darn bare.