Favorite Jeans

Do you have that favorite pair of jeans/pants? The ones the hug you in all the right places and are so comfortable? I have a favorite pair of leggings like that. I've menobellied right out of all of my jeans, so leggings are the norm for me any more. 

The same holds true with my long arms. DW is my favorite pair of jeans. He nearly always behaves and will subtly let me know when he needs a little attention. Bernie, however, is giving DW a run for his money and he's quickly earning my trust and faith in him. Just like that next pair of jeans that are nearly as comfortable, but not quite yet.

Here is some of the quilting that went into Beth's granddaughters quilt yesterday...

This is the back

I could not even pick up a pic off the front because the thread blended so well.

Here's what's on DW this morning...

Paulette's Ring Toss

I spent some time working on what I was going to put into this quilt last night after we worked on siding. But I still have some areas to think/plan through. 

Meanwhile, this is on Bernie this morning...

Karen R.'s Woodland Animals by Sue Spargo

I love to do Sue Spargo quilts. Wool quilts so very well.

I had a customer come and pick up yesterday. The plumber did indeed arrive and now we have a third functioning bathroom. We just need to install the door and finish the floor. The plumber (Randy) went above and beyond his quote and didn't charge us a dime more. I'll recommend Randy's Plumbing to anybody who wants/needs plumbing work done!!!

Working/Functioning Bathroom

After all the afternoon chaos and working in the old studio for the day, Jim and I, once again, started in on the siding on the west side. Except for another two channel locks and small pieces of siding near the soffit, the west side is done. 

Looking more like a whole house

The eavestrough and downspout between the two stuctures make the main house look like it's leaning. LOL. Isn't early spring just a dreary kind of time of year? I'm ready for the grass to green up and not look so dead. 

Jim needs to pick up more flooring today and since we're expecting rain most of tonight and part of tomorrow, we'll work indoors. And now that the plumber is finished, he can also work on the second part of the closet. But today I fire up the machines and enjoy this did-not-need-to-report-for-jury-duty Friday. 

At A Stand Still

I'm at a stand still in the [old] studio right now. I'm frame ironing on Bernie and I'm waiting for a call back for the one on DW. She did text me a message last night but there is still some clarification I need before proceeding. 

Meanwhile, here's some of how Onita's baby quilt turned out yesterday...

Onitas adorable baby quilt

I hate bras. Just sayin'!

We worked on the siding on the west side some more last night. We would have continued but it was becoming increasingly colder as the day came to a close and Jim was afraid we would shatter the siding as we were nailing it in. 

More siding added

Good news! The plumber is supposed to be here later this morning; in about an hour. We'll have a third working bathroom and then Jim can proceed with more closet building. He didn't want to have the plumber climbing into an even smaller crawl space hole than he's having to already do; part of the closet is going to cover the crawl space availability. 

I'll find out later tonight if I have jury duty starting tomorrow. We can't call until after 5pm to find out, which to me is extremely inconsiderate. But, I feel like it's my civic duty. 

Back To Normal

Donnas quilt is finally finished and now on to a "normal" two quilts at once situation. 

Here's what's on DW today... 

Beths tumbling blocks

Don't know what I'm going to put into this yet. I'm on the phone with my mom and haven't had a chance to plan anything. At any case, it's getting an edge-to-edge design. 

Here's what's on Bernie today...

Onitas embroidered baby quilt

Isn't this cute? It's getting a custom treatment and I've already started this since I had some time before working out in the new studio last night. And I needed to start frame ironing for Beths quilt. 

Last night, after receiving rain the prior evening, it was going to be a crap shoot whether we were going to be able to continue to hang siding. The dirt out there is clay and it indeed was a slick mess. We decided to work inside on flooring.

We had to fill some of the larger cracks and holes and we had some boards left over to start laying more flooring down. 

Filling in the cracks and holes

We finished as it was getting dark (which was early last night because it was overcast all day) and we are now officially out of boards to continue. 

Still waiting on the plumber to call and identify when he is available to come do his thing. Hopefully the wind will dry out the dirt situation and we can continue with siding tonight; we are kind of at a stand still inside until the plumber gets done. 

And Still...

...working on Donna's quilt. 

The day started out sunny and barely a cloud in the sky. But it was ominously still. I knew something was brewing and after lunch our sunny day started to become more cloudy. I also knew, that in order for us to start siding the west side of the studio (the one facing the driveway), the trim on the door needed to be painted. 

I broke from long arming to painting both of the exterior door trims...

The west door

This looks so much better!

I went back to long arming until Jim got home. We were trying to beat the rain they were predicting as well as our limited daylight available in early spring. This is how far we got on the siding last night...

Getting the siding started

I don't know if our weather is going to cooperate tonight or not, and while the rain did not start as early as they predicted (we beat it), it did indeed rain most of last night. Meaning, it's a muddy mess out there. We may have to do indoor work tonight.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I'm working on Donna's quilt again today. This SHOULD be its last day on the frame! Crossing my fingers (and toes, and anything else that will bring it to a close). 

Small Project Sunday

I did end up sewing something yesterday while Jim was down emptying out the fire pit...

Tote Bag

The inside

I want to start giving customers their "trimmings" in a more suitable bag. I give them a not-so-hefty bag now and I've noticed they are easy to rip. And, they're not eco friendly even though they are made of paper. Cutting down trees for such use seems wasteful to my mind. 

I tried making a drawstring bag a few weeks ago, and it seems too...I don't know...just not right. I like this bag. I only wish it had more structure to it, but even if I use an interfacing (aside from inner foam) I think it would still be a little lifeless. And that would mean another couple of steps in the process.

I think I'm probably going to stick to this process. I like it. It's not too hard, It only took me about an hour and a half to make (not bad considering this was my first go around with it), I can make it any size I want, and it'll use up some of this old fabric hanging around the place. Hopefully, returning customers will bring the bag back with their next quilt and we can keep the recycling going. 

Donna's quilt is going to receive my utmost attention today. I have nothing else to distract me (yet) and I need to get this quilt done. It's been on DW way too long already. 

Saturday Skip Day

I started to log on this morning and realized I skipped yesterday entirely for blogging. Probably because we jumped into our "play" clothes and took advantage of a beautiful weather day. 

Jim had picked up some siding he found on Market Place earlier in the week and thought the lady had more than enough to do the south side of the house. We started there for a couple of reasons...

1) It's not the same color (or even close) to what we have on the rest of the house.

2) This was our first time attempting siding entirely on our own and if it was messed up, the only people who would see it is our neighbor because it's in the eventual dog pen.

3) It was the least amount of cutting work since there is only one small window on that side. 

Here's what we accomplished with what siding we purchased...

Starting the siding

We have many projects going on in this build; flooring, closet, siding, overhangs, and the plumber will probably be here next week some time. 

Meanwhile, Friday was a HUGE customer day and in between I was busy doing more ripping than quilting.

No small projects today (I don't think) and we are probably not working in the studio today either. We're pretty tired from yesterday and we have "regular" chores to deal with this morning. (I'm taking a break from what I was doing to blog actually). The house does not maintain itself and all those daily/weekly chores still need to be tended to. 

Jury Duty

I'm on jury duty most of the month of March. Hopefully, like last time, all the cases will be dismissed.

I love the wildlife around us. Jim, not so much. My son always says to his dad, "Love the country, hate nature." These guys were hanging out around our dock yesterday.

There's thousands more where they came from

I didn't get a great pic because they are very wary of my presence. 

I had to do an "experiment" yesterday on the cracks in the flooring where some of the boards aren't perfect. While I was out there, I grabbed this pic of the sun shining in the new windows...

I LOVE THIS FLOOR!

No studio work last night. We are out of screws and have to run to get more tonight. The price they want here locally for the same bucket is 50% higher.

Here's some more quilting I snagged a pic of yesterday in Donna's quilt...

Lots of feathers and swirls

Not only did I have a  customer drop in yesterday and spend quite a bit of time chatting with me, but I had this going on too...

Bain of the job

Unsewing. Bleh! I've had to do my fair share on this piece. I think not sleeping well at night is starting to catch up with me. And, the quilt is still on the frame. Unfinished. 

I have two customers coming in for a fix this morning and another possible one coming to drop off later today. I'm going to get right on DW as soon as I finish blogging and see how much more of Donna's quilt I can tackle before everything fires up. Wish me luck.