A First For Me and The Quilts Are Gone

I had the backing all frame ironed. I had the batting laid on top and let it rest all day (packaged batts have to rest to pull the wrinkles out). And, then, I proceeded to lay the top out to see what I was working with. I played and played with this top trying to get it to "smooth" out. Here's the quilt in question...

A giant 108" to custom quilt

But here's the issue...

All the corners were pulling in

And the final issue...

That's all the extra backing I was given

Since the quilt was pulling in on the corners, I can guarantee the middle is going to flare out and this little bit of backing wouldn't be enough once I got down to that point. Even though the backing was telescoping (as you can see by my ring finger), the quilt 'fell' over the sides; it was beyond my Red Snappers and that told me I'd run into [more] problems mid-way through quilting. 

I had to call the customer and let her know I would not be able to quilt this quilt. I have never, never, ever called a customer to take their top back. Thankfully, the customer knew there was an issue and she even stated she had intended to call me a couple of times over the summer to tell me not to quilt it because she knew it was going to be a problem.

She'll be up here (she lives downstate) in a few weeks for a retreat and will pick it up then. I'll unload everything this morning and get ready for the next one to go on Marty.

I had two visitors yesterday. One to pick up her finished quilts and the other to pick up the rest of the Rayola donated quilts. Wow, that was very emotional for me once they left. I broke down into tears and just prayed one little kiddo would find comfort in all my efforts. 

Meanwhile, I would have gotten Janice's quilt on Bernie done, but the neighbors a couple of doors down, were up and we have to visit with them when we can. They are always so busy working down there and they don't come over (they live right in town) during the winter months. I only have the border to go and then I'll have to see what's up next.

Meanwhile, these two were hanging around yesterday morning and looking less than enthused.

Ho Hum. But we love our chair. 

Lots to do today. Is it already Wednesday?

Music and Quilting

Having zero music in my studio is uncommon. In fact, I found that I become frustrated and tense when there isn't music in the background. Or people talking. Sometimes I listen to a podcast or YouTube video when working. But there has to be some kind of noise. Isn't that weird?

Where do I begin on yesterday? I removed the Tilda Sampler from Marty and did everything I need to do with a customer quilt and then went to the queue to find the next 'deadline' to get it started. The back is being frame ironed...it's a big one.

I moved over to DW to remove the panel I quilted on Sunday so I could get the next Rayola quilt back started.

See all the candy?

The backing I found was long and skinny; a leftover from something done previously, but there was enough there to piece together the small 40" square quilt going on so I quickly did some piecing to get something onto DW (a naked long arm is almost as frustrating as not having music) and then loaded that up on the machine. 

I decided my class wasn't going to result in a positive deadline for what's on Bernie so decided to just start Janice's quilt and do my own thing on this one. While I was basting in, mom stopped by for a little visit and then Jim was home for lunch. 

Doing my own thing

I'm incorporating as many curves as I can since this is such an angular quilt. And, we're using a very flat batting so I need to get as much in the white space as possible.

I worked on that until after 'closing' time and then moved over to DW since that back was ready. I got the ProStitcher fired up and decided to get some flowers in there...

I'm giving away a Kaffe quilt?

Yep, this is done with Kaffe fabric. I know, crazy! I received a call in the afternoon from Yolanda from Rayola, who I talked to at the quilt show. She's stopping by later this afternoon to get all those quilts still sitting here waiting to be picked up. I was hoping to get the one above finished so she could take it too, but I messed up the backing.

I made it too small (see, I'm human too). I quilted as much as I could, pulled it off the machine, added more back to it and then reloaded. I'll finish that one tonight. 

Once I was done with that, I started cutting for more retreat projects. Cubby the Raven is cut out and ready to go and am now working on project number four. Remember, I have three retreats in seven weeks starting mid-October. But this is how I'm going to work it. I'm going to work here in the morning before heading over to The Springs and then retreat all afternoon and evening. 

I can't do that while I'm in Shipshewana, obviously, but I can with the two here and will make the most of both worlds as long as I can. 

I'll be working on Janices quilt on Bernie all day, and if time permits, I'll jump on Marty and get Karen's started. But that all depends on how long I'm fiddling with the Rayola quilts this afternoon. 

Do You Ever Wonder Why?

When I'm long arm quilting, especially those repetitive filler motifs that are automatic for me to do without much planning/thinking, my mind wanders to why things happen. Why do people make quilts? I mean I know why I do it, and I'm sure my reasons parallel with others, but some other people probably do it for perpendicular reasons from mine. 

Jim calls it 'windshield time'; that time to reflect and wonder about life/things.

The Coffee Break table runner is done...

Deb H.'s Coffee Break

Some quilting that went in...

Can you even see anything?

After I finished that I pulled the next October deadline out and started frame ironing it. I also noticed a notation for another quilt that needs to be done soon and it's an E2E on DW (digitized). I worked on Marty on the Tilda Sampler during business hours...

See any difference?

The swimmers leg on top has been ditched. Look how much nicer the fabric and batting lay. The leg on the bottom has not yet been ditched and her legs look like mine; all dimply. 

Ditching takes a LONG time! Maybe that's why these Tilda Samplers take so long because each of those legs needed a start and stop done. I could not just move from one to the other without doing a tie-off to get there. 

Anyway, once I worked on the Tilda Sampler for a while, (well past quitting time), I moved over to DW because he needed to have that background stuff stitched down before I could start frame ironing for Pat's quilt backing. 

It worked out pretty well

Once I got that stitched out/down I pulled it off and started frame ironing the backing for what I need to do on DW for my customer. All three long arms were used yesterday. That's unusual, but kinda cool.

I moved over to my DSM to get those bindings done and here is Rayola quilt #115...

Tula Butterfly

And once that was cataloged, photographed, folded and tagged I started and finished Rayola quilt #116...

Half-square Triangle Baby

While I was working on the above two quilts, Jim was working on getting the old wood removed from our permanent dock since we're supposed to get our lake back next spring/summer. The angle iron on the end needed to be removed first, and then the boards after. Once the new boards are in place the angle iron on the end will need to be welded back on. Welding and water don't mix so this needs to be done before we have water to deal with.

Really unsafe right now

Today I'm working on more frame ironing in both Bernie and DW while I work on the Tilda Sampler on Marty. 

Decisions, Decisions

Isn't it nice to have such easy decisions to make rather than life-altering decisions? So many people have much harder decisions to make and I am grateful mine are as easy as they are. I decided to do an E2E on the Tula Butterly...

Watching DW work

The motif going in

I remember when I bought DW back in '13 I asked the dealer about this ProStitcher thingie. I'm glad I listened to him because while DW was back there finishing another quilt, I was binding and recording the previous quilt last week (donation quilt)...

#114

This is a very soothing log cabin some girl should love. After lunch I remembered I needed to complete a block for next years raffle quilt for the Hale guild. I did that...

For the Hale Country Quilters raffle quilt next year

...and then moved on to working on my Tilda piece. I have the scissor handle and then the blade sections complete. I just need to join them together and then add them to the pincushion section. Pics to follow tomorrow.

This morning, after scheduling my mammogram (Wednesday afternoon) I also signed up for this years Quilting Summit...

Last year I purchased the extended pass, but hardly used it. I didn't do that again this year, but will later if I find there is invaluable information I won't be able to live without. 

Today I'm hoping to get those scissors put together as well as the pincushion section added on. I may also get the binding made for the Tula butterfly, but getting it bound today probably isn't in the cards. 

Hello Old Friend

Jim canned salsa yesterday and the house, for a while, smelled like a nice Mexican Restaurant. While he was canning I was doing some maintenance on Caleb and Lia's quilt; Amazon Star...

We meet again

DW did the original quilting on this piece and here it is again, over 10 years later, back on DW working on some seam pulls and other stuff. Other stuff means I found two sections where the blocks weren't finished, and another whole section that wasn't even quilted. At all. 

Yes, you can get a previously finished quilt on the long arm and the proof is above. 

From there, and after lunch, I headed back into the studio to bind #113 donation quilt (Farmers Daughter) and worked on my Tilda piece. Section three of the second 'batch' are all done and I'm working on the second half of the second section of the second 'batch' now. LOL.

Meanwhile, I grabbed some pics of the donated quilts in their temporary storage area (one of three) while we were on our way to Elm Creek. They just came through the Mac this morning...

About half of the donations

Here are some more that are going...

I texted Keri this morning to let her know that all [113] are ready for pick up and that a bigger vehicle or a trailer would be needed to get them all in one go. I'm sure she's trying to find the means with which to get these as I have not heard back from her yet. 

I'm back on Marty/Bernie today. My goal is to get these two Tilda Samplers done before shutting down tonight; It will depend on whether my day is interrupted with quilt fetching. 

Perfect Labor Day Weekend

We labored on Saturday, had a relaxing Sunday and today we're doing what we love to do. Jim is canning salsa and I'm going to work in the studio.

I did pick up some things from Elm Creek when we were there yesterday morning. A 3-Yard book at the Spartan fabrics to go with it. This will be for the newest addition expected in January. They HAVE to have a Spartan quilt for heavens sake.

I also picked up a pattern for the Stand Mixer (a cover by Annies) that I've been trying to find for a while now. Yay! Jim helped me pick out the fabric for that because we'll be looking at it for quite some time. 

Here are some more quilts that are going to Rayola...

Some of them are simple...one of them (Editya Sitar's BOM) is not so simple, but I can't keep them all.

I'll be working on Caleb and Lia's quilts today to start. I have to repair the one, and check the other to make sure it doesn't need any repairs as well. Then I have to get them ready to ship over to Germany.

I Figured a Few Hours...At Most

I didn't thing we'd be out in the garage but for only a few hours at best. Six hours later with two of us working and only taking two breaks (my phone overheated and died during one forced break), we were able to get through all 16 totes. So far, a total of 112 quilts have been labeled, measured, photographed, and folded to bet sent to Rayola.

It was good seeing my old friends again coming out of those totes. I got cranky through about a 1/3 of the way through the project because it was becoming personal to me. 

Amongst the sorting process, I had to wash and lay out in the lawn (between two sheets) the quilts Caleb and Lia left behind for me to deal with for them. They smell so fresh now and one needs repair, but I'll get to that tomorrow.

Here's a few more of the quilts donated yesterday...

Jim and I are running to Elm Creek this morning. They are having a Labor Day sale. There is something for both of us; Jim in the gardening center and me in the quilt shop. Because, you know, I need to make more quilts, right?

We did end up keeping about four totes worth of quilts behind. Most of them were art pieces or weird quilts nobody else would want. Some of them were personal to me (my addresses and a t-shirt quilt) and others were just too big (king-sized). We did keep back one baby quilt for the "little" kids as well as one couch quilt that would make a nice wedding or something or another gift. 

I'll keep posting quilts to the blog that I captured on my phone. I had to use Jims after mine died and he doesn't back up to the Mac but rather his iPad. 

Donation Day

Here is some more eye candy on the Tilda Samplers...

I worked until past 8:00 last night and still have one more row to go, plus a filler block. Maybe on Monday or Tuesday these two will be done? After long arming, while Jim was watching our first Spartan football game of the season, I made the binding for the Farmers Daughter quilt. That will be donated as well and need to get it done. 

I had to clean and rearrange the loft upstairs this morning which is why I'm blogging so late. The grandkids' bookshelves were a disarray of art supplies, books, and a few games. Not to mention dusty as all get out. 

Once I got that done, my shower taken, everything put away that another shelf up there was purged from, I started in on the donation log/labeling. The first five are ready for pick up...

#4-Happy Camper

#1-Pastel Skates

#5-Rainbow X's and O's

#3-Rainbow Chevrons

#2-Cute Monsters

I'm very sad to see these go. Making a quilt sometime takes longer than making a child and I love them just about as much as a child. But they aren't doing any good here. I have to keep telling myself this. Somebody may (or may not) appreciate them but once they are picked up next week, I have to hope they bring a kiddo some joy and comfort during their trying time. 

Jim's at a township meeting and after lunch we'll start tackling the quilts in the garage. These five were just hanging around here in the house waiting to head to a tote for storage. The Gravity and Town and Country quilts were spared donation. There are a few I will NOT part with and these two made the cut so far. 

Happy Labor Day Weekend

I'll be working on Monday, but I will not be open. I have these two quilts that are taking soooo long to complete and I feel like they need to just get done. I have at least two days worth of work yet to go. The hardest block (the bee) is probably on today's venue which will take an hour or more each because of all the marking that needs to happen to make it come to life. 

Here's some more quilting eye candy...

I don't know what's going on with Blogger, but it decided to place this photo on the left today.

I had not two, but three ladies in yesterday to drop off a total of seven tops. Yup, Seven. Thankfully there's  no hurry to get them done.

While I was working on Marty/Bernie I got the next back on DW frame ironed and this is what is sitting in wait...

I LOVE this quilt!

I would normally do a custom treatment on this, but since I'm giving away all 'under king-sized' quilts, this will now be an E2E. And it's funny how all of a sudden I'm surrounded by pastel colors on all three machines.

Jim and I have no plans this weekend with the exception of going through totes in the garage. 

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!