Cooking Meat Inside

We don't generally grill or cook meat in the house. The smell lingers and is off-putting throughout the day. But we need chicken grilled for lunch today and I've got to make some on the stove. I don't know how to use the grill outside and I think we're out of gas on it anyway.

While that's cooking I'm blogging. Coffee is perking too. Maybe that will overcome the meat smell?

Here's some more eye candy from Bernadette's Tilda Sampler...

Hippity Hop

Climb those trees

Hot Chocolate anyone?

After working yesterday morning, most of the afternoon was taken up with customers. It was a very nice visit as these two hadn't yet seen the new studio. Two new quilt tops in the queue and only a little more Tilda was completed after their visit.

I then pulled out and worked on getting the last borders on Produce Section. It doesn't look much different than the previous pic so won't share that at this time. 

That's about all of the retreat items and so now can get that binding on the Yoder Sisters, which will hopefully be tonight. No customers expected today meaning Bernadettes Tilda Sampler may be finished this afternoon. 

Hello, hello!

Well, I'm back from the retreat. This one was SUCH A GREAT time. We laughed and ate, and laughed and ate some more. I only wish we could see this group of people more often than once a year. 

And, I was very, very productive. Day one:

First to be put together...the orphan block baby top

My Creative Grids pineapple blocks baby top

The QOV from just a jelly roll and a few yards of fabric

And I was thinking to myself I was way (way) ahead of schedule in my head. 

Day two:

Produce Section is a top

Day three:

Notice the 3-D napkin hanging

And day four:

So cute!

All of these but the table runner need borders and/or setting pieces put into them but they are constructed correctly and are ready for me to make them whole. Look at all these new quilting projects I have just created for myself. I had one of the retreat members give me a quilt to take home to work for her, so it wasn't just a 'vacation' for me but also a working situation. 

Here's day five (because technically, the retreat was still happening):

Taking the morning slow

I finished crocheting my slippers and did nothing else but put everything away and sort out the many lovely gift bags we received. 

So warm and comfy!

Today I'll be working on Bernadettes Tilda Sampler on DW while watching the snow falling slowly from the sky. Not expecting any customers with the snow/freezing fog we had last night and the continued snow we're getting today. 

Blogging Help

I'm trying to update the "About Me" section of my blog, yet can't seem to get it altered. Maybe I've lost my tech abilities with the sickies?

Yesterday I spent ALL DAY working on blueberries...

Teeny, tiny pieces

All the Produce Section blocks are made. I've cut the sashing and border strips so when I get this ready to assemble (at retreat in a few weeks) everything is ready to go. 

It was dark by the time I finished and wanted to start something new. I pulled out a pattern I purchased a few months ago at Elm Creek, but stupidly chose a white background instead of a dark blue like I should have. 

Well, now I have an extra three yards of white. Pull out another pattern. Yep, found one and started cutting for that. I'll continue on with cutting today and perhaps some long arming since I didn't do any yesterday. 

Almost There

I'm at about 97% this morning, but, Jim is home sick today. I think he picked up something at the viewing/funeral on Monday or Tuesday.

I have nails first thing this morning and have a few other errands to do. Jim thinks he's driving me as we received a dusting of snow last night, but he's asleep on the couch right now so I'm not sure how that's going to work.

I did do some long arming yesterday between making the pineapples and starting the blueberries, but only for a few hours.

Here's the pineapples...

Yum!

I'm hoping to get the blueberries done today, although they are really (really) intense. Pieces is having 15% off their kits and I want to stop by there to take a gander. Haven't been over there in a long while. I also need to check in with mom to see if she needs anything and the lugs have to be retorqued on the truck since we got new tires a week or so ago. 

More long arming in the mix there somewhere I hope. Happy Friday. Happy 2025!

Well, Hullo Thar

Do not get Influenza B. Wash your hands. Keep your fingers away from your face. Prevention is key. 

I've been out of commission since my last post (Dec. 18) and I do not want a repeat performance of what I've been dealing with since then. Every flu symptom you could possibly envision I got to experience. 

I'm still not 100% but at least I'm on the mend. I've been doing "quiet" work the past two days; piecing Produce Section blocks and was actually on the long arm yesterday for a little while. My strength is low so didn't push myself.

Here's some of what I've been up to for the past three weeks...

Apples

Kiwis

Cantelopes

And while the family was here Saturday for Christmas, Andrew put this together for me...

The lego sewing machine

Here's the long arming I did yesterday...

Starting a new quilt

I did get Timber off the frame and bound a few days ago (Tuesday, I think). That'll be going to the C's. I've also been doing a lot of crocheting. Two scarves completed and another one started last night. A lot of reading as well as a lot of sleeping factored into my life the past three weeks. But I'm glad to be heading in the "repair" direction. It was hard staying out of the studio for so long. So, so hard!

I'm going to take today slow. I've already worked on getting more of the house undecorated and put back together. Called my dad. Did some regular chores around the place and now I'm going to work on a few more Produce Section blocks. Maybe some long arming after lunch? Jim is working today so the house is quiet. 

Starting a Quilt is the Hardest

When I first start a quilt for a customer it's the hardest part. I have to think through how all the motifs will flow. How the quilt is constructed. What's the fabric in the quilt? How does the pattern work throughout the quilt? 

Once I get started, it's a much quicker situation. Here's some of the quilting going into Janice's quilt...

Getting things rolling

Since this quilt is basically a "border" quilt, I still have a lot of thinking to do, but at least I'm started.

After working on DW, I moved over to Foster to do another pass on Timber. Only one more to go. After working on that pass I then completed the grapefruit in Produce Section...

Pucker power with grapefruits!

More on Janices quilt today. 

Difficult Blocks

Some quilts have more difficult blocks than others. The Produce Section is one of those quilt tops which has a few blocks and then some pretty difficult ones come into the picture. These are not paper pieced so the accuracy is even more crucial when stitching them together. 

I have the grapefruits about half-way complete...

They look easy enough, right?

At any case, I hope to finish those this evening. It's going to be a wet and very dark day today. Rain expected all day as our temps rose during the night (high 30's). Most of our snow will be gone by days end I'm afraid. Not very Christmas-y. 

I'll be working on Janice's quilt on DW most of today. I'm still frame ironing the back on Bernie for Anns next top and will keep working on that throughout my time in the studio. 

Cooking and Piecing

That's about all I did yesterday was cook in the morning. I spent the afternoon working on the lemons. I also decorated the gingerbread house while waiting for Jim to come home from work. I did get a little long arming in on Foster, but not much. 

When life gives you lemons...

A happy place

Today I'm going to work on the Produce Section blocks while Jim is out working on Christmas gifts. 

Last Christmas Quilt

I worked past business hours yesterday to get Dianes quilt finished. Here's some of the quilting that went into it...

Lines everywhere

I still need to trim and call her, but it's finished nonetheless. Janice's batting arrived late yesterday afternoon so I'll be loading and starting that one once I return from nails this morning. I haven't been over to Pieces in a while, so maybe I'll take a trip over there?

But my cold is now in full force: Snotty nose, coughing, sneezing, etc. All the fun traits of a winter cold that try to pull ya down. I don't want to share this lovely event with [older] other customers/staff. 

Advil Cold and Sinus will be my friend today.

I cut and started to piece the next batch of fruit in Produce Section, but this one is pretty intense so didn't get it finished before running out of steam. 

No customers expected today. It'll be quiet and now that the last Christmas quilt is completed, less stressful. Happy Friday. 

Wild Night

The wind and snow last night was just crazy. Jim and I were up and down through most of the night. I remember coming downstairs at 3:45 to see if the door out to the deck had opened up because the furnace just kept running. Jim slept downstairs since he doesn't want to get my sickies and he was awake when I came down.

Thankfully, the winds have subsided a bit, but they are still pretty stiff.

Diane's quilt did not get done yesterday. I had a customer call and want to come and pick up her quilt. She brought a friend and we chatted the better part of an hour. Or more.

Hopefully today it'll be completed. Meanwhile, while the furnace runs in the studio I cut for the next Produce Section block and took off the short backed quilt on Foster to fix that situation. It's back on the machine now and the plums are complete... 

Do you see anything wrong here?

One of the plums are in the incorrect orientation. I'm going to leave it because who wants to follow the rules? If, when it's put into the quilt it's a problem, I may fix it then. 

Customer already here this morning (which is why I'm blogging late) to drop off, but nobody else expected so I should be able to focus a little bit more on Dianes piece. Maybe. I'm pretty foggy/tired from the lack of sleep and with this darn cold I have but I'll just take my time and enjoy the process. 

Oops!

Apparently I wasn't wearing my math hat the day I made the backing for the Lumberjack quilt because after taking another roll last night... 

Ummm...we have a problem

This is definitely fixable, but frustrating too. I'll have to unload this beast, attach more backing and then reload. The reload is the hard part because all the weight of the quilt is fighting against you. Jim will have to help me out to ease the stress level.

I worked all day on Diane's quilt, but while the furnace was running, cut out the pieces for the next block in Produce Section. Once I was done on Bernie and Foster for the night I was able to cut the last little bit and then pieced the watermelons...

These turned out so darn cute

Actually, all the fruits are turning out cute as hell. After closing the studio down for the day, I snagged a pic of the house all lit up since Jim ran the last of the lights last night before he headed out to his studio to work on Christmas gifts...

Happy Holidays from our house to yours

All we need now is snow, which we got last night after taking the pic, but it won't stay since temps are going to be above freezing this afternoon and it was only about a half inch that we did get. 

Dianes quilt is my main focus today. I'm coming down with a cold (of course) so I'm going to press on before this stupid virus gets any worse. Maybe it'll be a light one this time through? 

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! 

Not Always As Planned

I had every intention of getting the body of the quilt on DW stitched out yesterday morning. I set up the area, parked in the motif, did some adjustments and pushed 'quilt'. It took some tack stitches and then started ghost stitching.

This was my morning. After restarting the Pro Stitcher a few times and fiddling with some settings within the program I was experiencing the same results. I called Handi Quilter. 

Apparently my very new tablet needed both a Microsoft update as well as a PS update. While that was working, customer number one showed up.

She left, I ate lunch and then at that point, received a phone call that customer number two was on her way from Midland. I didn't want to get into anything big, so I started plugging away at the crochet bag I started down in Shipshewana.

She finally arrived and stood and talked for a while. When she left I continued on with my crochet bag(s) project. I received a call about an hour later that a quilt I had been holding since July was finally being picked up. She arrived well past 4:00, but at least it finally found its home.

Here's the three bags I completed during the day.

Aren't these so stinkin' cute?

Since I hadn't long armed (at all) yesterday, I jumped on Foster to get my daily long arm fix in. After a pass I shut him down and moved over to working on Produce Section...

Orange you glad you're here?

These oranges turned out almost perfect. Elizabeth Hartman writes nearly perfect patterns. I have found a few minor things I'd like for her to do in her patterns that would benefit a beginner quilt maker, but I can figure things out with my years of experience.

Getting the tree today and running to Midland to do a little shopping. It's snowing pretty good out there, but Jim's driving and I won't worry about the nearly bald tires we have to replace on the truck as he's a professional. 

One More

I have completed one more holiday quilt and some little boy is going to enjoy the dragon quilt(s) I've completed the past two days...

Lot's of flames going into the quilting

While I was frame ironing for the next up on DW...

The next one of Linda's

I was working on the raspberries for Produce Section and putting the borders on Bee Happy (which is now complete btw). And, while doing all of that, I was talking to a long lost childhood friend on the phone for nearly two hours. But here are the raspberries...

I love raspberries

Aren't these just the cutest? I'll be working on the Linda quilt above most of today while taking care of two different customer visits scheduled for this morning. One to drop off and the other to pick up and drop off both. 

Did I mention I've picked up crocheting (again)? Now I have something productive to do at night when I shut down the studio instead of playing time-wasting games on my iPad. Those games sure suck you in and I wasn't liking the direction that was going. Happy Friday. Stay warm out there if you're anywhere in Michigan. 

Snow Day

All the schools in Michigan are closed today. Except Olivet downstate. Jim is still home and it's not because of the three to four inches of snow we received overnight, but the freezing rain we received the three hours preceding the snow. It's a glare of ice underneath all that snow. And his truck is stuck next to the White Pine because he didn't dare pull down that tiny little grade towards the house when he got home yesterday afternoon for fear of gliding off down the steeper hill towards the lake. 

He's out shoveling. I think the customer I'm expecting later won't be here, but she hasn't called yet, so who knows? 

The first snow

Linda's first dragon quilt is done...

Putting flames into the dragon quilts

Number two is on the frame and ready for quilting this morning...

The second one

While I was frame ironing this back, the first quilt had its binding attached and I worked a little on Dianes quilt on Bernie.

Once I was prepped and ready for todays work, I fiddled on Foster for a pass and then after rolling for another, shut Foster down and started cutting and piecing the next set of fruits in Produce Section. I called it quits at around 7:00 last night as I was tired and had a customer come to pick up yesterday meaning I was "live" for part of the day.

More Pro Stitcher work today on dragon number two and then I'll see where I go from there. 

Routine

Our dogs are very routine based. I always know what time it is at night because Hazel has to go out at 9:00 every evening. She'll just sit and stare at you until you let her out at that time. I get it. I like routine during my regular business hours. I like being in the studio at 10:00 so that I'm ready for whatever customer situations present themselves. The past two weeks have severely disrupted my routine and I felt way out of sorts because of it. 

Today, it's back to the regular routine and wow am I much happier.

Here's what's on DW today...

One of Two

This quilt, and the next one nearly identical to it are the last of the Christmas quilts I have to complete. I knew these were coming in but started loading Janice's back anyway. I had to pull that off and I'll work these two over the next few days to get them ready for binding, which I'm also doing for the customer.

Once Linda and Rick left, and I started frame ironing for the one above, I cut and then pieced the next set of fruits in Produce Section...

Peachy

These are actually peaches, but are a bit distorted until they actually get into the quilt. I loaded the first dragon quilt top after these were pieced and set the quilting parameters so all I have to do is turn on DW and get things lined up. I'll be ready to roll after that quick bit. 

Winter "storm" expected today. We received a dusting of snow over night and more is expected later this afternoon. The winds are howling out there, but I don't think we'll get a whole lot more snow since this thing seems to be a fast mover. At any case, it's a good day to stay inside and just quilt, quilt, quilt! 

Isn't Parenting Great?

Parenting is a love language all of its own. Whether your children are young, or grown adults, parenting never ends. Grandparenting is a whole other ball of yarn and when taking care of the grandkids, boundaries have to be met and set both. 

While the grandkids were on their way back home with Jim, I was able to stay here and work. I finished Debs quilt, worked a little on Dianes and then helped Jim get Foster back into his rightful place in the studio when he returned. 

From L to R: Jacob, Zechy, Elijah and Hannah

Here's what's on Foster already...

Timber!

After I worked on this for a bit to see how Foster was running, I started in on the cherries for Produce Section...

They look really dark here in this pic.

Off to moms doctor appointment.

Cheaper is not Always Better and Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Ya know, I've noticed a few of my what used to be customers not returning to me for quilting services. Which is fine. I know people move, leave this earth, or find somebody who was less expensive.

Story time.

My middle son, Ben, is a DM for a very large landscaping/snow removal company in the Lansing and Grand Rapids area. They lost an account last year to a competitor for what they can only perceive as a less expensive amount. The customer called earlier this week (even though commitments are already made for this upcoming snow season) to have Snelling come back. Snelling is the company Ben works for. They didn't get the service they were used to with Snelling and were disappointed in some of the other issues they had with the "new" company.

Less is often times not more.

I am passionate about what I do and I try to make it as right as I can. I ask questions when a top is dropped off to get the most out of whatever expectations the customer has as the end result. I get customer reactions when a finished quilt is picked up and try to gauge whether they are truly in love with what I did.

Just because somebody is less expensive may not always fit what is needed or even wanted. But that's business, and I get it. I can't be the end all-be all here, but it would be nice if honesty was presented to me in why you've left me as your long armer other than moving, death, or expense. I had one customer blatantly ignore me in a quilt shop because she had stopped coming to me earlier this year. I found out why two days ago by another customer in a round about way. Sadly, at our January retreat, she will not give me the real reason why she's stopped having me do her quilts, but I now know the truth.

Enough of story time. I worked on Debs quilt a bit yesterday morning. None on Dianes. The afternoon was spent in the kitchen and in the evening we were back to fetch mom from the hospital for another A-fib situation. I did get these put together somewhere in there...

Pears!

I'm loving this Produce Section quilt! Each of the four blocks are entirely different and I don't feel like I'm assembly line piecing. Or cutting.

Cranking Out Christmas

While I'm working on Christmas quilts this week, I'm listening to Christmas music. Sometimes. It just seems not right to be yet into the Christmas holiday until we give thanks on Thursday. Seriously. It's so overlooked and we have everything to be thankful for. We're not in a war. People can eat. People can find shelter if they seek it out. I'm thankful for every day I step foot out of bed and into my beautiful studio.

Here's some of the quilting that went into Sue S.'s quilt yesterday...

Using the Crop Outside feature

She wanted very light and loose quilting into this top so this is about all that went into it.

The next quilt went onto DW around late afternoon...

Another Michigan Shop Hop 2024 top

Ann didn't want custom into this one, so it received sailboats and sunshines throughout. Again, light quilting was requested.

This is on DW this morning...

For a marine biologist hopeful

This is getting undulating waves to mimic calm waters. DW sure is getting a workout this week. I'm loading a back onto Bernie during all of this quilting and will start with some custom work once that's done and the rest of the holiday quilts are tackled. I have a few more to do but most are E2E projects that don't take a quarter of the time a custom piece requires. 

Once I was through messing around on DW (eight hours later), I started piecing the strawberries on the Produce Section top. 

Sorry for the plastic bag

You get the idea. Happy logistical Friday! 

Cutting

A lot of quilting folks have their favorite, and, well, not so favorite thing to do. At the latest retreat, I polled our room and the least favorite chore was cutting the fabric and much to my surprise, binding was one of the favorite pastimes to do when quilting.

I'm just the opposite of the poll I took. Binding is my absolute least favorite thing to do and cutting is one of my very favorites. 

I had all these to play with yesterday when preparing for the Produce Section...

Look at all the lushisness!

The first cuts are made. I know, from talking to fellow Elizabeth Hartman quilt makers, first cuts are made and bagged and then when each fruit element is made, more cuts will follow. All the colors are in their respective fruit bags and ready for me to tackle once I get to that point. 

However, today is back to the regular day schedule. I do have an eavestrough interruption in there (which is our last "big" studio finish project), but hopefully he'll show up after Jim gets out of the woods; he took today off to hunt some more.

First thing this morning I have to move the back loaded onto DW over to Bernie and then get a back loaded onto DW for an E2E that has another Christmas deadline. Man, I sure hope moms surgery isn't going to happen. I know that sounds selfish, but this is putting undo pressure on me. It takes something I love to do and turns it into a "job" which creates resentment and stress. Not cool.