The Holidays

I can't believe next week is Thanksgiving. And it's late this year. Which means less time to complete Christmas gifts.

I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed already. Two presents are in process, 11 of them are completed, but I still have about 14 or so more yet to do. And they aren't quickie to-do's either.

It seems like the earlier I start on my holiday projects, the quicker the holiday comes at me. Why is that?

The Nutcracker top is finished . I think the number ten nutcracker is my favorite.

Guarding the wall

I need to get a turtle on the frame later this morning (after a trip to the dentist) once this one is pulled off. The turtle won't take long since the backside is straight-line quilting and the front is pretty wide open. It takes longer to load it than the actual quilting.

Then I'll get another customer quilt loaded since I have three in queue right now and maybe work on putting the turtle together after that.

Three More Nutcrackers

Here are the guys who were quilted last night after I got home from work.

Standing at attention

I feel like these guys are judging me while I'm quilting them.

And news flash, I think I'm changing most of my So Fine! thread out to Glide by Fil-tec.

Heres why:

It needles better. There is little (if any really) lint in my bobbin case. It's just a bit finer weight then the So Fine! (So Fine! is a 50 wt. where the Glide is a 60 wt.) DW will needle it through on a size 16 needle and doesn't need an 18 like the So Fine! Because it's a finer weight, you can fit even more on a bobbin. And, quite frankly, I have so many less thread breaks when traveling to the left on the machine with the Glide. Oh, and it's about half as much for about 1,000 yards more per cone.

I think that's plenty of reasons to switch. I would have to say the downside to switching is the Glide is a trilobal poly and gives a sheen, where the So Fine! is a matte finish. Some of these quilts don't need a sheen in them, so I'm not going to be able to switch entirely, but I'm leading myself in that direction for the bulk of my quilting here on in I think.

We'll see when I get my first shipment at weeks end from North Dakota (which, when I talked to them today, were wonderful and very helpful in their service). Jennifer was very prompt when I called and they may have a new permanent customer if everything works out. Oh, I ordered the thread from Kings Men Quilting Supply, in case you were wondering.

Hunting Advantages

When Jim is gone the house is so quiet. He'll be back tonight after having left on Thursday evening, and Hazel will be tickled. I'll be ecstatic.

But with the hunter leaving town it provides a very productive day around the house. Cooking is generally about third on my list of things to do around here, but took the time yesterday to make a pot of chili, a loaf of beer bread, and a batch of caramel brownies.  Even with my usual cleaning chores and the cooking diversion, I was able to get half the nutcrackers done.

Here are a few of my favorites.

Checkerboard Fill

Wood Floor Fill

Peppermint Candy Fill

King of Hearts Fill

Work today, so maybe a little long arming beforehand, but nothing crazy pants like yesterday.