New Internet Provider

We've kicked Spectrum to the curb. We now have a new wireless/internet provider and I must say, things have speeded up! They are coming to relocate our Dish cable later today and that means, Jim's man cave/our new living room will be officially moved!

What a weekend. Saturday was insane. I started with Linda's quilt on DW around 8:30 a.m.. Got the motif all set up and cropped and then hit start...

The motif Linda brought over for me to stitch out

Two thread breaks, one bobbin chicken loss, and one motor error later I was taking the last stitch at 9:30-ish Saturday night. 

While DW was doing his thing, I decided to work on other projects around the studio (I think DW was jealous because every time I would neglect him for a bit I'd have a thread issue). The first project was Diane's embroidered gift blocks. Here it is all together...

Much smaller than I thought it would be

I put that away and got out the flannel Twirly blocks that were made at guild. I trimmed all those down, put those together and then put that aside. 

For Rayola

I fired up Foster and finished quilting, trimming, and then binding the quilt for Charlotte. 

Done!

Now Foster was empty so I got the Twirly quilt back out and found some backing and batting to quilt it out quickly. 

Just some loose swirls were needed

Okay, at this point, DW was still only about two-thirds of the way done and was starting to show me he was being neglected. I had to clean everything up and concentrate on what he was doing from that point on. And as long as you watch him, everything works out beautifully. Which it did. 

Linda's quilt is off the frame and the first round of binding is attached. I'll finish that this morning before doing much of anything else except loading the back for the next quilt going onto DW. 

Oh, here's the new living room too....

New living room

While I was working on DW all day Saturday, Jim got the girls' new pen nearly finished (just a latch is needed for the gate) and they are having fun exploring their new digs. Yesterday we moved the TV, the rest of the furniture and then cleaned all that up (electronics are dust magnets). What a busy weekend!

Much to Share

Hullo! It's been a while hasn't it? Some boxes arrived while I was sewing my fingers to the bone. Presents for the studio...

A new cordless iron and teflon pressing mat from MSQC

51 spools of new colors to add to the variety from Quilted Joy

What a great retreat. I didn't think it would turn out as well as it did since there was a total of 10 of us not counting the camp director and her staff. But because it was a smaller group, we were able to get to know each other and support each others efforts in the quilting journey.

Despite being pretty social during the event, I was able to get a few things done. 

Gnome for the Holidays

This was my last completion on yesterday. Those striped mitered corners were interesting since I've only done miters about three times in my quilting life. 

DogGone It!

I made this for our dog sitter, Luann. She's a quilt maker too but who doesn't need another quilt to snuggle up with. I'm not sure when I'll get it done to give to her, but the intention is there. 

John Deere Green

Got this fabric from the sale table at Pieces and it's for Jim's mechanic, who said he wanted a John Deere quilt. I designed this one into a jumbo size from another tractor block I found on-line. What I learned about this quilt top is that you don't figure sizes and cut pieces after working 10-12 hours that day because my measurements in some of this were WAY off. But I managed. 

Dr. Seuss Compilation

And who doesn't like a good Dr. Seuss book? I'll keep this around the house for the grandkids to snuggle under while I read them books before bed. 

All of these fabrics/kits came from Pieces of Thyme quilt shop. Doesn't she just have the greatest variety? 

Today is put the studio back together day and, finally, a work day. I'm actually looking forward to it!

Taking Some Time

I'm not rushing the finish on this piece. It's fun to quilt and requires a lot of self-talk to get through where the feathers need to be placed, the ruler work needs to happen, and thread changes throughout.  Here's some of the quilting detail...

Quilting Detail

Notice the selvedge ribbon in the upper corner. I'm using this to give parameters for the arcs and feather placement. 

Worked on a few Town and Country blocks...

#233 Driving School

#234 Car

The commission piece mentioned in previous posts were for a neighbors friend who comes up with her on occasion. She looked at the Town and Country top on the design wall and immediately saw the electrician block. Her (deceased) husband was an electrician and asked if I would make her a larger version of the block. 

Look Familiar?

The wind is howling out there today and I have a few afternoon appointments. I'll work on Paulette's top for a while until the lights start blinking, and some more T&C's later today upon my return home.  

Commissions

I've often been asked about doing commissions for people, but when the price is worked up, they generally back out. Why do people think making a king-size quilt should be around $250? The supplies alone would run considerably more than $250. If your budget doesn't allow for a hand made heirloom quilt, go to the big box stores and purchase a piece made in China that 1,000,000 other people have access to and pay the $129 you were expecting.

But some folks appreciate the art and handwork that goes into a one of a kind piece and are willing to consider quilts as art. Because they are. I put just as much time into a quilt as my "real" artist mom does when doing one of her paintings. In fact, probably more time actually. 

This is a testament to some people believing. While I was unable to grab a full pic of this before delivering it yesterday, here is a snippet of what was created for an art lover.

Flying Cardinals from the Call of the Wild line

Today I have visitors coming; a new quilt client and I think mom is supposed to come over. She wasn't feeling well on Sunday and I'm not sure if she is still experiencing lingering effects of her yucks. 

I loaded the Little Buckaroos onto the frame yesterday before going to work and did some edge-to-edge quilting on it before leaving. I'm hoping to get it bound before the day ends. 

Hearts a Flutter

The PQ Challenge beginning last Sunday was something with hearts. Since making quilts is my passion (as is cake) I decided to show my love like this:

My Heart belong to a Machine

This was free motion quilted on my domestic sewing machine, not the long arm. I love to do sit down quilting. But only on these small pieces. And had DW not been otherwise occupied, I would have did it on him; but he had the Fair top on him at the time.

Working on the king-size giant top today for Carol P. Here is some of what's going in her very large border.

14" Trees

I'll be working on this most of today.

Yesterday, before heading off to work, I completed a top for a coworker who commissioned me to make a quilt for her. So, step one of four is now complete. You don't know the steps?
1. Make top
2. Quilt top
3. Trim and Square quilt
4. Bind quilt

Do you notice I refer to both "tops" and "quilts"? It's not a quilt until all three layers are together. Otherwise, in my little world, it's only a top until the quilting is accomplished.

Call of the Wild Cardinals

And, yes, those are my three (well, you can only see 2 1/2 of them) boys. They were hanging out at a Michigan State University football game a few years ago. Wait, I think that was actually five years ago. Maybe even longer now that I think about it. WOW!