Do You Remember?

Your parents told you something fun and exciting was going to happen and then because of weather, work, or car issues, it didn't happen. Remember how let down you felt? Yep, that's kind of what happened yesterday.

First, Gall Sewing and Vac showed up with their van to deliver Marty, his frame, and to take Foster away. Oh, and to take DW down for servicing. Well, three of out of four isn't bad.

Foster is gone, DW is heading for repairs, and the frame is up...

He's here!

The new frame is up. 

See the box on the left. That's Marty in that box. But when it was opened I heard the installer utter an "Uh, oh". 

No, no, no! No uh oh's! 

Apparently, the head wheels come with the Bernina frame. I did not get the Bernina frame because a Q20 only has an affordable frame up to 10'. I need 12' so we found a Grace frame that would work. Grace does not provide the head wheels. Obviously.

And Gall forgot to include them in the shipment. sigh

When I go to pick up DW next week (hopefully, Tuesday) I'll be getting Marty's head as well with his wheels attached. Meaning, we have to set him and adjust him on the frame ourselves. Not to mention, the "helper" the installer was to have with him had "fish poisoning" and couldn't make it. 

Guess who had to help unload and reload that box truck?

Since this was such a CF and after talking to Jason on the phone at Gall, we decided it would be okay for me to run down and get both of the machines (and them not have to come back up to finish their job) in trade for the ruler base for Marty (a $300 option). I don't think Jason was even told about the helper not showing up for work. I'll be mentioning that during my visit. 

All in all, I probably couldn't have played with the machine last night anyway. I was up early yesterday (oh and today too) and was feeling it around 5:00. The leaders that came with the Grace frame did not have the rod sleeve sewn in for my Red Snappers so I had to sew a double line down each 12' leader (three of them) which took over an hour. 

I had to put the studio back together, and Andrew called in amongst all of that. It was nearly 7:00 before we finally shut down the studio for the day. I was frustrated, let down, exhausted, my feet were killing me, and yet I was not in a bad mood because I'm one step closer to getting this studio perfect. 

Among all of that, the electrician showed up to figure out why we didn't have electricity in the garage (which meant no door opener and the chest freezer (which is full) was not working). Oh, and the Bellers' facia was flapping in the high winds so Tim was out to deal with that as well as help my long arm tech pick up styrofoam and cardboard he stupidly left outside the box truck when putting the long arm frame together. 

Today is going to be better! I'm teaching a one-on-one long arm class here. I have no other customers coming. I am down to one machine (Bernie) which isn't good but I won't feel overwhelmed next week to work 13 hour days, and we'll be using that today for class. Oh, and it's sunny and not blasting wind. 

Today is the Day!

Say good-bye to Foster...

Getting ready to leave

I really, really, really tried to like this machine. And he was great the first week he was here and the first week he came back after getting serviced. But then he started slamming, crunching, and started having electrical issues. I didn't feel like we were gelling all that well.

Marty is on his way to replace Foster as "we speak" and I'm so excited. 

Yesterday was spent on Ronda's quilt. After shutting down around 5:00 I had to move some more stuff in the studio to make way for today's arrival. I also had to prep backing and fabric swatches for class tomorrow. Once that was done, three more Pineapple blocks were made. 

In amongst the machines leaving (DW is going down with Foster for service) and the machine arriving, I'll be finishing Rondas quilt as I only have the two sets of borders and the side sashing to finish. I could have done that last night, but I didn't want to dive into a whole new quilt while the guys were here asking questions and making disrupting noises.

I've gotten to where I'm getting pretty regimented and while I'm happy about Marty's arrival, it does disrupt my day and I need to focus when I'm starting a new quilt top so I thought it prudent to keep to what I know for the work I'm doing while they are here. 

Yesterdays weather started out with about an inch or more of snow. That changed to freezing snow/rain. Near lunch that changed over to thunderstorms, then it rained and was very windy the rest of the day. Ahhh...spring in Michigan. Another windy day today, but the sun is peeking in and out of the clouds. No precipitation is expected so the guys will be dry while running in and out of the studio. Can't wait to show pics of the studio all put back together tomorrow!

Now We're Moving

No, we're not moving away. But the studio is getting a shift in long arm placement. Quickly before I head off to my class...

Stripping DW down

Disassembling Foster

Jim has to run to get the moving dollies from our neighbor and I'm going to class. DW should be moved by the time I get home since he's going to where Foster was.

Marty will be going where DW is currently at since he'll be my new primary machine with Bernie. DW will be strictly used for my stuff and ONLY digital edge to edge for customers. 

Wide Variety

I did a wide variety of quilting things yesterday. First, remove Donna's quilt from DW and get the next backing loaded and started on the frame ironing.

Oh wait, I need to wash and dry this backing for the customer before I can do that. While that was in the washer and dryer I trimmed Donna's quilt, got it billed out, and packed up. She has been called (LM). Once the backing was done drying it was loaded and started the wrinkle free process.

Meanwhile, I worked this on Bernie... 

Another Tilda Snowmen

Here's the start of what's going in here...

Just like the picture

This is how I did the quilt for Bittersweet Quilt Shop and this is what Lynette wanted.

Once the backing was done on DW this was loaded and will be worked today...

Sharon's Flower Power

This one is going to be minimally quilted, BUT there are four layers of fusible in there, so it's going to be slow going around the circles. And look at all those thread changes!

After that was basted in and threads were selected for today's work I got the binding on the baby quilt that was on Foster...

It's a quilt

Jim was very late getting home last night so I started to play with all those threads I've been saving...

Doing some playing in the sunshine 

I love/hate the time change. Love because I get a lot more sunshine in the studio for my work day. 

Here's what it finished out to...

Isn't this weird?

Can you tell it's an apple? Not sure what I'm going to do with it, but I think it's fun. I did not put any batting or a back of any sort on it. It's just a "thing" right now. I'll have to think about this. 

Meanwhile, I'm probably pretty much done with anything on Foster. I'm so excited to be getting the new machine and I know his capabilities so I'm holding off doing any more of my quilts until he arrives.

I attempted to lay out the scrap quilt I'm doing with Susan Smith of Stitched by Susan, but I was having a heck of a time turning things around in my brain and couldn't seem to get stuff right on the design wall (yes, I cleared it off to work on this). Jim is going to have to help me with this one I think. My brain just doesn't work that way.

Off to enjoy another sunny (yet, colder) day in my beautiful place to create. 

Sleepy Sundays

Jim and I take most of Sunday afternoons off. We recharge for the upcoming week and spend quality time with the girls. As we get older, I think this day is very important for us.

But Sunday morning we do some chores and play around the property. Jim tackled some previously cut branches and the girls' pen with the poop duty and then watched MSU kick UofM's butt in basketball. I finished this quilt on Foster... 

Finally quilted

I still need to bind it (who knows where that is) but it's probably the last "quilt" that Foster will do. I plan on playing on him for some projects I have in my head, but that's about all I want to tackle.

No customers expected today. I have to remove the t-shirt quilt on DW since I finished that on Friday and reload for another April deadline quilt. It'll be a surprise. 

Ever Wonder?

Do you ever wonder what other people are doing at that very moment you're thinking about what they're doing? My mind drifts when I'm long arming. What are the kids/grandkids doing at that moment? What are friends doing? Other quilters...are they long arming, at a retreat, or just piecing? I believe I have too much "think" time. 

The QOV is done. It's hanging out waiting for the markings to disappear...

Ready to remove and trim up

To revisit, I'll be working on Sue's Kaleidoscope quilt on DW for the next few days...

Ready for my attention

It's not even basted in yet. I was waiting for Jim to shim those legs before starting to do any work on it. Now that that's done I can proceed.

While I was getting ready to quilt on Foster last night, the sun broke through the clouds and showed me this yuck on my cutting mat...

Look at all that mess

Your mat has all of this as well. I took my gum eraser to it and it's much cleaner now. What I need to do is get it in the shower with some Dawn to thoroughly clean it, but I'll do that when the weather gets warmer.

Rainy and chilly today. It's probably going to melt whatever snow we have left. If not today, then definitely tomorrow as temps are supposed to stay mostly above freezing with rain for the next day or so. 

Not so Snuggle Sunday

Okay, so we did snuggle a little after lunch and before the game, and then again after it was finished in the early evening. Meanwhile, in the morning I worked on Foster...

What's going in the "mint" section

And in the afternoon I started pressing, cutting, and piecing for the first block in what I'm calling the Scrappy Susan quilt. 

The first scrap block (of 40)

You can see my focus fabric in the background; what I pulled all the scraps from to make it a little more cohesive. 

Today is QOV work on Bernie. It should be done by the end of today barring too many interruptions. 

Overkill

Ginny's quilt is done! I have to find a box big enough to get all three quilts in so we can ship them this weekend. These are all the pretty threads that went into her quilt in a row...

I love thread!

I'll be working on this QOV for Ann today...

Not normally a custom but...

I don't normally custom quilt a QOV because I charge a set fee for them. But this one had so much going into it I'll definitely be losing a ton of money taking the time to do the custom work. But our veterans are worth every bit of my time.

After finishing Ginny's quilt (late afternoon), and after loading the QOV, I moved on to the binding on the quilt sitting on Foster. I had to get it done. I needed the machine for another project...

And it's a finish!

I love the green binding I put into it!

I loaded the fourth Girl with the Pearl Earring next. Is this overkill?

A 15" art piece on a 12' frame

My little Janome 1600P that I use for sit-down quilting is showing its age and is causing me some grief. I stitched this out on Foster and then started doing the fill. It was time for Spartan basketball and I was getting tired. Here she is so far...

Doing the back stitching

I'll continue with her tonight since this is going to be my finished class 'model'. I have one customer coming today to pick up and should be able to make decent headway on the QOV since it won't be quilted to death, but some nice easy custom will give it some spark. 

Titles

Sometimes it's hard to pick a daily title for these posts. Yesterday was pretty uneventful. I long armed ALL day. Stopped near dark again. Worked on the Girl with the Pearl Earring stitch outs...

One of three stitched out

Two of these are actually stitched out. One more to go. Yep, that took me to about 7:30-ish. I knew if I started the third I'd be out there for another hour or more. 

Can you see any of the quilting?

Do you see it?

Probably can't because, once again, mostly just ditching is occurring in the center section blocks. The border blocks are another story as are the borders. More on this quilt for most of today. I have a few more thread changes on this pass and then I can work the border blocks, which take a very long time. 

I haven't done anything with the quilt coming off Foster yet. If I take it off I have to put something else on there and quite honestly, since we don't get along so well, I'm just not wanting to fiddle with him. The binding is made and all I have to do is trim the quilt, but there it sits. 😈

Who Said Long Arming Wasn't Dangerous?

I was on Bernie yesterday way before I was scheduled to open to try to get ahead of the day. 10 minutes into my work and... 

Poked my finger and the thumb is being compression-ized

I can tell when I don't wear my compression glove. My thumb just throbs the next day and sometimes even keeps me up at night. I poked my finger tying off with the needle because I was being stupid.

The Steam Punk is done! Not until after lunch, but done nonetheless. I had a bazillion phone calls/texts in the morning to deal with. And then there's the regular admin stuff I do on Friday mornings too.

Here's what I'll be working on next week on DW...

The last of Ginnys tops to do

This was a BOM she did last year and upon initial inspection, this too is going to be a lot of starts/stops and thread changes. I've already pulled four threads and that's just for the borders and backgrounds. I've already basted in and started the first border. 

Once Jim got home from work (way after 4:00) I jumped over on Foster and finished the quilt I have loaded on him. But not without some issues...

What's wrong with this picture?

The machine is on. The machine quilts. But how do I change stitch length? Or any other controls (lights/handles/bobbin sensor)? And this happened twice last night. The only way to get the screen back on is to turn the machine off and then back on again. There's a short in there somewhere so he needs to head back down to Lansing.

But he may be leaving me permanently. Still haven't heard back from Jason to see if we're going to make that a go, but as soon as he opens up today I'll be calling him. 

Speaking of Jason and Lansing, we are headed there later today when Jim gets home from work. We have to stop at Gall anyway because my favorite bobbin case (once again) is not tensioning correctly. He needs to change a little spring thingie in there. IF we have time. 

Jim is working this morning but as soon as he gets back home we are on our way south. We need to pick up some things from the little kids to bring back home before the movers come in for round one for their European move.

We might buzz over to the B's to visit with them for a bit, but we'll have to wait and see where we are at time-wise. 

I've already got the sheets in the dryer; first load already put away. Bathrooms cleaned. Plants watered. Dogs fed. Sinks scrubbed. Living room vacuumed. Now can I play in the studio?

Oh, and here's a video of the studio today...

It's a sunny Saturday as you can tell from the video so enjoy!

Weird Mac

The computer I blog on (my desktop Mac) was completely off this morning. I checked all the connections because it would not just turn back on. I switched the plug it was in on the Monster surge protector and it finally fired up. Isn't techology great?

I know this computer is getting up in years and maybe it's giving us some signals?

Up early and rolling already this morning. Chores are done and I'm jumping on Bernie first thing. The Steam Punk quilt did not get done yesterday. This is why...

Do you see any quilting?

You don't see any quilting because I'm going around each and every one of the non-aqua elements with aqua thread. It takes a LONG time to do this as I can't just whip around everything willy-nilly. 

Maybe today it's going to get finished? I have a customer coming later to pick up and had a last minute visitor yesterday to drop off who was here for a bit. 

I did get another roll done on Foster and have a half and one more roll to go. But I have to piece some batting since the quilt was bigger than the batting on the roll. That won't take long, but it's kind of a contortionist act wrestling with 107 inches of batting. 

Bad Hand

The thumb injury that occurred to me as a young girl (like seven or eight years old) is starting to become an issue. It feels like my thumb joint is becoming arthritic or something. This is my dominant hand; my working hand. Moreover, my working thumb. 

I played on Foster for a little under two hours yesterday and my thumb, even while typing this morning, is making its presence known. Painfully. I got off the long arm and moved over to making customer bags. Sewing and pressing do not require much pressure on that joint. I have started wearing a compression glove to try to ease the situation.

Here's a few of the bags Jim (he helped when he got home from work) and I made yesterday. 

A few customer bags

While Jim is giving the girls a haircut, I'm going to work on four more. 

Our "storm" didn't turn into a storm at all. We got maybe another inch of snow overnight and only spontaneous snow yesterday. It's supposed to be done snowing by late morning today and that's it. Kind of a let down.

MSU won last night in Champagne, and Tom achieved the most winning coach award passing Bobby Knight after the win. While Jim was watching the game, I got the third round of my crochet squares done and will work on the fourth while we're watching movies today. 

On a bad note...the little group who have put a fly in our damn reconstruction ointment did file for appeal with the Michigan State Supreme Court on Friday afternoon. Are we ever going to get our lakes back?

Happy Valentines Day!

I'm wearing my burgundy, pink and white today to celebrate the day of love. Although, I think we should celebrate love every day. No?

Janice's colorful top is now a quilt. I didn't get any pics of the E2E I put in, but I drove and did the swirly feather flower all over. Except the border where I put in a half feather.

Here's what's on Bernie next... 

Steam Punk from Indiana

I have three quilts in a row for a customer in Indiana. Her name is Gail and I get tops from her at Shipshewana for me to quilt. This one is going to be a shop sample so there is custom going in.

DW hasn't been fully loaded yet but here's what he'll be wearing today...

Janices Soccer Boy Top

This is actually a Carpenters Star from what looks to be a layer cake and some background fabric. I'd love to quilt this with some shocking green, turquoise, or yellow but that's not what the customer wants.

As promised yesterday, here's some of the quilting going into the I-don't-remember-when-I-did this quilt on Foster...

Corner treatment

Upper border area

This looks so cool with the afternoon sunshine hitting it since Foster is on the west end of the studio.

I was on the phone all of yesterday morning. Bernadette and Maggie are coming to get their quilts around noon today. I left a message for Gail (other Gail, not the one from Indiana) about her Dad art quilt being done. I had to call Gall Sewing about something I have in the works (a secret until something more concrete comes of it), and then Gail called me back to let me know she was on vacation until the end of the month and would pick up her quilt then. 

My brother was texting me during all of this so I was definitely multi-tasking because I was also basting in and getting ready to quilt Janice's quilt on DW as soon as I could get off the phone. 

Well, I have nails first thing and will get right back home to work on Janice's second quilt before the girls show up around noon. Happy VD!

Digging Out

Jim was late getting to work this morning. Another six inches of snow last night and we still have a little coming down this morning. He said the secondary roads are a wreck so I don't think I'll have anybody wanting to come over today.

I'm closing a little early though as we have a tax appointment at 3:30 this afternoon. Have I ever voiced how much I detest this whole tax process? Bleh!

Back to quilting related stuff. Millies Dresses is done! I finished right before lunchtime. I had a quick art quilt I was hired to finish and so got that right on the machine after getting Bernadettes off...

Her dad in 3-D art form

I forgot to grab a pic before getting it into the pick-up closet; it looked much better stitched out.

I'm not sure what's going on Bernie next, but here's what's on DW for today...

Janice D.'s colorful top

Still not sure what I'm going to do with this one. She is open to me doing either E2E or custom. I really want to do some custom work but I don't know that it would enhance it that much to warrant the extra expense to her. Hmmm???

After getting that loaded I moved over to Foster to get his new back frame ironed. While working on that I got the binding into the Kaffe quilt. Isn't this cool?

Using the same thread as it was quilted with

And it's a quilt!

Cotton Cuts Mystery BOM from 2021 (I think)

Once that was done, the back was ready on Foster so this is what he's wearing now...

Haven't a clue when I made this

I already have pics of what's going in here, but I'll save those for tomorrow; I've already got enough pics in here for this posting. Happy snowy Thursday.

Noted Issues

Whenever I find an issue with a top I make a note of it in the work order and then snap a pic to alert the customer of possible areas of concern. Maybe they aren't concerned, but that's up to them.

Here's one I found yesterday while working on Millies Dresses...

Can you see the stain?

Not sure what this is? Coffee, maybe? Not my problem. 

I'll be finishing this quilt up this morning and then have one more September quilt to work on before I'm into November drop offs (all the Octobers were deadline quilts and are already finished). 

Mom stopped by for a short (not quick) visit and helped get the "eyes" into the art quilt going on Bernie next. We caught up and then just before Jim got home (she does that) she took off. 

After taking Jim to pick up his truck from the mechanic (thermostat not working, wiring harness not completely working, and his 4WD was definitely not working) I jumped on Foster and finished quilting the Kaffe top. The binding is made and ready for the quilt. It's still needs to be unloaded and trimmed but hopefully I can get to that tonight. 

We have a weather warning for later this afternoon; 4-6 inches expected. It's not supposed to start until around 1:00 but it's already starting to lightly snow here. Bernadette will be coming Friday (or the next Friday) instead. 

I should be able to get lots and tons completed today because no visitors means much quilting. 

Health

It's funny, how when we get older, our health starts to get stupid. Jim had an anxiety episode on Saturday morning so we found ourselves at Urgent Care. We wanted to make sure he was not precursuring into a stroke or heart attack. 

He has an appointment with his GP tomorrow morning to discuss this event. At any case, his BP and HR were about normal, so it didn't look like anything too severe.

After we returned from Urgent Care and Pieces (found a backing for my Kaffe top) I did get another Koala done...

The newest on the bottom

For some reason this one turned out a smidge too small. I replaced the seam tape on Ellie, so I'm thinking I got it a little too wide when I set it. I'll have to remake that one and replace it. I'll use this one for a pillow to go with the quilt.

While Jim was watching Spartan basketball I went from piecing the Koalas to Foster to start quilting the Camping quilt...

Love putting in swirls

I was going to custom quilt this (I want to custom quilt all my own quilts), but this one was a bit too whimsical and honestly, I think this was the better choice. And I get to use up all the Omni thread I have in my bin that I want to get rid of.

Yesterday was a lazy day. Jim was still a little tired from his Saturday episode and I was just drained. I was productive however. I crocheted the base and started the first slipper from the yarn we bought last weekend...

A partial first slipper

I'm putting a different colored cuff on these, so this is only partially completed. Hazel seemed to need a lazy day as well...

Isn't life tough?

I'm all recharged today and ready to face Linda's intricately quilted quilt. The sun is shining, the neighbors are gone (I can have the music a little louder) and I'm not expecting any customers at all this week. Which is a good thing because I'll be at retreat from Wednesday on. 

Speaking of retreats. A big thank you to Jim for helping me put in the larger spacers on my SewEZ table because I'm taking Ellie along to this retreat; she's deeper than Lilo so different spacers are needed on the table base. 

Milestone Monday

DW passed a HUGE milestone yesterday...

100 Million!

We've certainly had some good (and some frustrating) times over the past 12 years. I love 'em though.

I'm giving a small long arm clinic (I guess that's what you'd call it) later this morning. Around 10:30 or whenever the three participants arrive. It's basically showing how to use rulers, free motion, and how a quilt is quilted and completed.

So I couldn't finish the quilt on DW since that's the one being used for demonstration purposes. The last quadrant is waiting for the ladies to show later. Meanwhile, I loaded this quilt top onto Foster...

Happy Camper

And after basting this one in I loaded this one onto Bernie...

Millies Dresses by Tilda

Bernadette loves the Tilda fabrics and patterns, and I love them too, making it a win-win situation. I'll continue to work this until the ladies arrive later this morning. I've already got the ditching in and have an idea of what I'm going to do in here as I sketched a quilt plan last night on the iPad.

After working I started playing with the Yoder Sisters and before I knew it, they were all built and this is where I stopped last night...

Two more steps to go

I have to get the ladies sewn down. I'm going to free motion on Jay (the sit-down machine) the appliqué pieces and then it'll be ready for binding. Maybe tonight?

Temps this morning: minus 7 degrees, but it's very sunny out so while it looks nice enough, being outside for any length of time isn't a good idea. 

Small Project Saturday

After working on Foster to get the rest of the background filled...

Here's the "carpet" and shiplap siding

I started in on my little project. The background work will look so cool when I get the girls in there. I wanted to do that today, but those purple marks are slow in coming out (it's pretty dry in here).

Here's the small project I made...

A cute little basket

This was a YouTube video that came across and I wish I would have listened to my gut when making it. She had us cut the lining bigger than the outside, which I did as she instructed but wasn't the right thing to do. And she wasn't really clear about where to put the divider thingie and of course, I put it too high.

I was about half-way done with this before I had to start lunch and then after we talked with Ben during lunch (I had checked my email while on the phone with him) I received an advertisement for JoAnns on some great sales (yarn and fusible) and asked Jim if we could run into Midland to take a look. He agreed.

After we returned home a few hours later I started back in on my basket project and was able to finish before settling down for the night. My marks were still not gone from the Yoder Sisters so was kind of at a standstill.

Since the marks aren't gone yet (if I set a hot iron on that it's going to be permanent) I'm going to dig into my tops-in-waiting tote and pull out the next one to work. 

Happy 3rd Birthday Lucy!

Today is Lucy's third birthday. I can't believe she's been with us nearly three years. She is such a delightful little dog and is so laid back. Wow, and does she love kids!

Lucy with grandson Tristan (both from Ohio)

I love antique quilts. To look at. Not so much to quilt. There's usually some kind of issue or wonkiness within the quilt as a whole. This one has a lot of seaming threads, and I've found a variety of stains or substances in here, and I've already mentioned the border situation in yesterdays post...

And just what could this possibly be?

This looks like dried blood

There are a few others I've encountered throughout what's been done so far, but they aren't as noticeable as these two (so far). I got a back loaded for the next project on Bernie and did some of the background fill on Foster for the Yoder Sisters. 

I did get all those orphan half-square triangles put into rows (14 rows of 14) since I had 200 blocks total. I have four extra in case they don't line up right on the design wall at retreat in a few weeks.

Not working today (even though Jim is) on DW but I am working on Foster to get the "foundation" quilt done before being able to work the Yoder Sisters appliqué.

I've also found a small project I want to work on sometime this weekend, but don't know if I'll get to that or not. I may just put aside the Yoder Sisters to do that since I can't get it off my stinkin' mind. It's my day, so I get to choose, right?

The actual quilting going into the antique quilt