It's Good To Be Home

I am so sad on the last day of a retreat. Leaving friends behind is always hard and the laughter we share will be missed until the next retreat. But, I love our home and while I do miss the girls already, it's good to be back.

I did not get as much done as I usually do at a retreat. Miscuts, undercuts, and other circumstances (lots of shopping) resulted in the slower progress, but I did manage to get the BOM top done...

BOM top ready for quilting!

I also completed two table runners for holiday gifts this year, but neglected to get pics of them. 

We spent yesterday unpacking and getting everything back in its place in the studio. I organized a few things I purchased in Shipshe and then we started working. The quilt Jim quilted while I was gone needed trimming and then I attached the binding to the front. Hand binding commenced after lunch and after only getting about four feet done, had to quit for the day. The hand can only handle so much,,,

Hand binding (bleh)

I received word this morning from the kids in Germany and all four quilts made it!

The quilts made it to Germany!

That's my kids' head above the pineapple quilt. lol. 

I missed blogging during the week, and I really missed the 'big guys' so I'm starting early this morning to take stock in where I left off, what I need to load onto DW for Jim to work on, and get my head back in the game. Vacation is over and the holiday season will be here soon. Let's quilt!

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. 

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!

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. 

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!!!!!!!!!!!!

Something New

I was removing the quilt from Marty's bed yesterday and I kind of hit my thread scissors moving from the back to the front. Maybe cedar wood wasn't a good idea?

I probably couldn't ever do this again

They must have went flying for them to stand there so upright. 

I decided, since I had already started it, to finish Ann's quilt on Marty. It wasn't as big of a pain as I had experienced in the past moving a quilt from one machine to the next. Maybe I'm getting better at it? The reason I was going to do this quilt on DW was for some digitized work in the big squares, but I think I got it covered....

In the main panel

Sashing and the first big block

The second big block

I didn't get a pic of the third big block, but I simply did some water meander like I did in the Tilda swimming girl. 

I was pretty tired yesterday (???) so I knocked off long arming around 4:45 and moved over to working on a new kit I picked up on Saturday for the new baby we're expecting. It's pretty easy and I've added it to the tote going to retreat; all cut up and ready to assemble. 

Once I finished that I cut out for the next BOM block in the kit I received at Creative Escapes retreat last January. I was going to sew it together but at that point it was nearly 7:30 and I was just too tired. 

I have the last panel and border/sashings to do on Anns quilt and I'll move over to Bernie while I'm frame ironing for Anns second quilt which is a QOV. DW should be stitching this one out honestly, but I don't have a new encoder yet, so I'll just have to put something in there myself. 

A BOM x 2?

I have several projects (five) cut out for upcoming retreats. We picked up a retreat tote last night so I could put everybody in there along with all the extra fabric and directions. Now I can work on something here a little more complex. I have one BOM I started...

A little more traditional than my usual

I picked up this kit at a white elephant auction at The Springs last January and decided I could start this. I have my BOW to work today and then should I start another BOM? I have a book and fabric I picked up in Alaska just for that purpose. I probably need background fabric though? 

I'll also be starting to get together the stand mixer. But first, we have to run to the lumber yard to get boards for that dock Jim tore out last weekend and I have to at least pick up background fabric for the Alaskan BOM even if I don't start it today.

A Gift

I love to get surprise gifts. Maybe I'm selfish but getting something unexpected is always fun to me. Linda brought these with her yesterday when she dropped off her next top for me to quilt...

All Tula Pink fabrics

I was so appreciative of her, the top she dropped off is going to be pro-bono because there are some cuts in there exceeding a yard. 

Before and after my lunch with Linda I worked on Ginny's top and here's where I am starting today...

Day 1 of ???

There are over 16 threads in here meaning a lot of thread changes. And then you miss a spot you already loaded that thread for (three thread changes ago) and have to reload that thread. UGH!

After working on DW to almost dark, I switched to prepping for an art class I'm teaching in May. I've got all the girls marked out and I'll hopefully be starting to stitch out my marks tonight or tomorrow...

The lady with the pearl earring

There are four of these that need to be made in various stages of completion for demonstration purposes. Only three of the four are going to be time consuming since the first one is just a demonstration of the overlay in front of her. 

I'm debating on whether or not to just do these on the long arm or the sit-down machine. I can think about that today while I'm working I suppose. 

Lost Phone

I left my personal phone at moms house on Sunday so I was kind of lost without it yesterday. I don't generally get it out when we are there for this very reason. Too many other things to gather and do while we are there. 

Linda's three quilts are done and picked up already. The last Christmas quilt is going to be worked today and tomorrow and then I can take a deep breath and get back to tops that were dropped off over the summer.

While DW was stitching out yesterday not only did I work on Dianes quilt, but I got the last two borders onto the BOM from Sew Very Easy and made the next fruit in Produce Section...

Mangos

Once our customers left (they stayed late) Jim and I started in on the tree. It's all decorated. But it needs some presents underneath it. Time to start wrapping! 

Getting Things Done

Yesterday morning and part of the afternoon was spent working on Anns quilt. I made another set of Metro Rings sections, and then I pulled out the BOM from Pieces and decided I needed to get that into a top. Too many WIP's around here.

Getting the long sashings in

This is today's feat. All the vertical sashings are in. Today...the long ones (UGH). 

We [hopefully] have an HVAC guy coming today to get the heater hooked up in the new studio. Meanwhile, Jim worked on the bathroom...

Getting there

He needs more drywall to finish that project. He worked on more sub flooring...

One last piece to get in

And he started removing needed things to get this window out to be able to get the hole cut for the door into the main house...

Readying for joining the main house

Caleb and Lia are coming up tonight and maybe the four of us can somehow get that accomplished, IF the HVAC guy shows today. Otherwise, we don't want to heat an empty room for 24 hours. 

I have a house to clean and cookies to bake today, as well as preparations for our Christmas tomorrow. The only foreseeable sewing for the next two days are getting the horizontal sashings in. Yep. That's about it. 

Too Hot

What's with the August weather in May? I left all the windows and doors open yesterday, but this morning shut everything up around 10:00. Temps already approaching the 80's and the humidity seems to have come up a bit. Shall we even think maybe we'll get some rain? Soon?

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

Wood Grain, flying geese, and piano keys

After working on Jodie's quilt most of the day, I switched to Donna's quilt in the late afternoon/early evening. It was getting too hot in the house so I decided it wasn't good for the machines and I was having a hard time gripping the handles to the long arm. Kayak time. 

Once I got back from a short (1 hour) kayak trip, I decided it was too early to call it a night. I cut and then pieced the next block in Farm Girl...

Mixing Bowl

Today will be much of the same, but when the house gets too hot, the A/C is going to be turned on rather than sweating my fanny off. 

Computer update this morning (which is why I'm blogging late).

Have you heard about the 50 States BOM? I just found out about it last night. I'm pretty interested! It started in 2022 and is going through 2026 (I think) with one block per month. Find it on Green Forest Quilts (or something like that) on YouTube. It's not too late to start and I see the originator of the BOM is using r/w/b themed fabrics. Which I have lots of, but may do in another color scheme. Research! 

Back to Work

My work alarm went off yesterday at 4:00 (per the usual) and Jim silenced it for me since he was right by it. He glanced at the screen and said I had a number of calls and texts. I haven't looked yet to check on those because my work phone died sometime last night. I haven't been on it all weekend, and it was fully charged when I put it down Friday at 4:00. I have NOTHING working in the background! Hmmm?????

Meanwhile, I did some Farm Girl Vintage II blocks over the weekend...

Mama's Apron

Milk Cow

Maple Leaf

These go together so much faster than the Pieces BOM! Working on both Bernie and DW today. And...we still need some rain. 

Weekend Hours

QATL will be closed for customers today (Saturday) and Monday both. As the lady says: "Please make a note of it". 

Here's what's on DW this weekend...

Jodie's Truck/Deer top for her son

This will probably get some thread painting done. A new one for me: Double bamboo batting. 

I worked on Donna's Taylor Swift top yesterday while Jill's was stitching out. I have the first row in and it's coming along nicely.

I cut out of the next Pieces of Thyme BOM and will construct that throughout the weekend. Jim and I are heading out this morning to an association meeting and then to Menards in Mt. Pleasant for some construction research. More to come on that in the future. 

Block of the Months

Do you like BOM's? I do, but when they offer it as a "lump sum" situation, I prefer to take that option so I can work on them at my own pace. The Cotton Cuts BOM top, which was a true BOM without a lump sum option, is nearly together. I have one more set of borders to construct (there's a middle flying goose) and attach and it'll be complete. But here it is so far... 

Signoria from Cotton Cuts

By the time I get the borders attached it won't fit on the design wall, so thought I'd share it as it is now before it gets put into the "To Quilt" totes under Bernie. 

Let's talk about markings. When I make a mark on a quilt top, it's with air or water soluable products. Period. I do NOT use the heat removable products such as Frixion pens. They leave a very subtle waxy substance behind that never comes out, even after heated. I've proven this and seen it with my own use here in the studio. 

So here is Margery's quilt marked out for today...

Chalk and water removable pen

I did the marking for today last night after I finished (finally) Linda H.'s Kim Diehl quilt. It's still on the frame and I have to trim it yet, but the quilting is completed. 

So today I'll be loading another top onto Bernie and working on Margery's quilt while the Bernie back is being frame ironed. See a trend here? 

And let's talk about Bernie. He was purchased to do a few customer quilts here and there, but moreover, to get some of my own almost 50 tops done. But because I'm so busy, that's not working out like I had originally intended. So, I'm looking for a third machine.

I don't know how the studio is going to be reconfigured to accommodate this, but I've got about a year to work through it. I'm not going to stop making tops so something has to change here to make sure I continue to provide good service to customers, but not become frustrated at the growing pile of my own tops sitting down there just patiently waiting. 

Bad News

So Jim's mom is being admitted to Palliative care effective immediately. He spent most of yesterday in Traverse City with her. We'll probably make another trip up on Sunday. When Jim contacted the boys about the bad news, my eldest commented, "Death is the winner each and every time." It makes you take stock in what you're doing today and it's a reminder we should NOT take each day for granted. Do what you want to do. Do what makes you happy. Because in the end, that's all that matters.

Having said that, I'll continue to stay in my studio. That's my passion. That's my happy place. That's where I can watch nature (despite the weather...which is currently back to winter mode with all the snow we've gotten this morning), I can hear construction, the children's laughter, the dogs happily barking, the smell of campfire smoke or a bacon breakfast. It's lake life with quilting thrown in for an extra happy measure. 

I finished long arming the Dream Bigger yesterday! Fist pump! Here's what's on DW this morning...

This pattern is called Gypsy Wife by Jen Kingwell

I've done one of Jen's patterns before and loved working on it. She makes traditional blocks in weird settings and they turn out beautiful. This one, unfortunately, is not mine but a customers. I may have to rethink calling her when it's completed. 😉

I did get a little quilting in on Bernie yesterday afternoon while frame ironing the backing for the quilt above. I was stumbling over the BOM on the table so shut Bernie down to finish my next two blocks before all my little pieces were in places they shouldn't be. 

Committed

When I start quilting a quilt everything is beer and skittles; it's new. I haven't gotten bored yet. And all the fabrics are fun to look at. Then, after doing the first roll, I realize just how labor intensive the work is going to be for the next day (or three). I have committed to what I started and sometimes my decisions are questionable. 

I have learned over the years to start with a framework and see how the basic motif goes. From there, I may (or may not) add additional pieces into the framework depending on how the quilt is pieced and how much time commitment I want to put into it. At some point, I have to keep things relatively under control as I have other quilts waiting for me to work.

Here's what's on Bernie this morning...

Cotton Cuts BOM 2022 made with Tula Pink fabric

Here's the bonus quilt top I pieced yesterday from the play quilt I just took off Bernie. 

Bonus Quilt

This came with a bonus quilting motif as well but since I added the upper/lower borders, I may do my own thing in here. 

After I pieced this top, and while Jim was giving Lucy a groom, I made this new spring banner for the studio... 

Using as many of the scraps I can

I deleted out the background but while I was making this yesterday, we were in the middle of a snowstorm. Yet, today, it's supposed to be near 50. Ahhh...March in Michigan. 

I'm going to be binding this morning on the little coffee table in the living room, which should prove interesting. Jim needs the backroom table to groom Hazel today so I have to make do with what I have available. Thank goodness quilters are flexible people. 

One Year Anniversary

I worked diligently on Lynette's quilt yesterday with very few interruptions. Until Jim got home from work. Then we needed to run to Midland for errands/groceries. Today is the day I'm hoping it will be done. I have one more row and the final border to do. 

Since I don't have any quilting pics to share, how about a few of Lucy, who as of today, has been with us a full year. 

One year ago in Wooster, Ohio

This is the day we picked her up. 

This was last month, but she looks the same

And here she is a year later. My how our little girl has grown. She's such a happy little girl and she is very respectful of the quilts floating on the long arms and doesn't get into them as I work. She doesn't, however, contain herself around customers. She's so happy to see people she jumps incessantly and pees all over. Until we learn self-control, she's banished outside when they come by. 

Cloudy today. Rain expected later. And I heard a Kildeer when I was out in the girls' pen this morning. Spring is officially here. 

I received an email from Pieces of Thyme that my BOM is ready to be picked up, so I'm going to head over there after lunch to grab that. And, if Paulette is there today, I can run her quilt over too.