Sickness is a Part of Life

There are people all around my sphere of life who are either sick (my mom) or have acute/chronic situations (both my neighbors). My share of all of that during '25 was enough and care to not have a repeat performance in '26. 

And, today is  Jim's D-Day; the day he 'meets' with the magistrate to decide his work comp fate. The meeting starts at 10:00.

I'll be oblivious to all of it being out in the studio working on the snowman for Lynette. Here's some more quilting going into it...

Getting feathers in where possible

Snowman body treatment

I was talking to Linda about our upcoming retreat and continued to work on Lynettes quilt while doing so. Linda said she had to let me go as she needed to prepare dinner since it was past 5:00. Wow. Quilting goes faster when talking on the phone (thank you AirPods!).

After I shut down Marty for the night assembling the snowflakes was next. 

Ready to be attached

This took over an hour and a half to do

Since there isn't a long arm available right now, and since our bar needs a table runner, quilting the background on the DSM was the only possibility. Bleh I say. 

Applique in my studio is done differently than others do it. Getting the background quilted first eliminates the need to have to quilt and fit motifs around the appliqué on whatever machine is used. Now that the background is quilted, the snowflakes can be 'temporarily' attached and then blanket stitches can be added.

Thought Time

When I'm doing repetitive work on a quilt, I have time to let my mind wander. It's a time for reviewing the holiday, my life, what the kids are doing, and, making lists of things I need to do after I get done working.

Like getting ready for the upcoming retreat. If memory serves me, we used to have the Creative Escapes retreat Wednesday through Sunday. But, this year, it's Monday through Thursday and my head is having a hard time with the change. I keep wandering over to the retreat announcement and looking at the calendar to make sure I'm not losing it. 

Work was slow in getting started yesterday. After dealing with answering a customer inquiry about their quilts' whereabouts, searching and loading a back onto Bernie, basting in and pulling threads for what I'm working on Marty it was 10:30 before getting back into the routine. Here's what I'll be working on probably through tomorrow or Thursday...

The Lori Holt Snowman

This is a large quilt and may have undershot the completion time. Here's some of the quilting going into it...

The large pine tree

I'll post pics as I go along. The problem with that is that when the iPad is paired with the external Bose speaker and I take a pic with my phone, the speaker pics up the camera clicking sound and cancels what's being listened to from the iPad. It's weird. Technology. 

Pushing

I love long arming. It's my passion and I enjoy having the quilts come to life with stitches and texture. What I don't like is the pressure. I have people texting me already this morning (not even open yet) wondering where their quilts are. 

When I HAVE to do something, it puts undue pressure on me and what I love to do starts turning into a job; something I have to do because somebody else is dictating when I do it. 

If I haven't called you, your quilt is not done. I'm working as fast as an artist can work and honestly, I was dreading this Monday because I know I have quilts in the queue I've had for far too long and I'm pressured to get them done. 

Which makes me grumpy, irritable, and not wanting to actually get on the machines. My mind tries to push back the stress and fights with me on the pressure, meaning, it's less focused on doing the artistic side of quilting.

And, if I'm being honest, am thinking about not taking any more quilts at all. Yep, I have three machines. Yep, I have the business. Yep, I'm loving what I'm doing. BUT, I don't love the deadlines, the stress of having tops too long in the queue because I feel like I'm letting somebody down by not getting them done fast enough.

Well, here's what I did yesterday...

Finished!

Jim has a puzzle missing a piece on the table right now, and until he finds said piece, the table runner is a little off kilter here. 

It's back to the normal work week and I'll be cranking on a few quilts over the next seven days. I have retreat a week from today but I'll get as much work done as I can to meet expectations for others. I am only one person, and I do have other things I like to do. Remember, you're not the only customer I have, and like you I have a life too. 

Just Cloudy

For the past week, most of our weather report has stated we were just going to be cloudy. Yet, every day, we get a little snow down instead of 'just cloudy'. It's winter and winter requires snow, so I'm good with it!

After doing a crap load of errands yesterday, one of which was to drop off a quilt to Bittersweet and then of course, pick up a few things from there, we ventured in other directions and never got home until well after noon.

I did get the rest of the table runner quilted later in the day and now it's ready for binding.

Ready for binding

Hair cuts first thing this morning and now I'm headed to the studio. The girls are getting baths and Jim is going to take the tree down; the last of our Christmas duties to put the holiday to bed. 

I also realized, while Jim was cutting my hair, that I have a week before our Creative Escapes retreat at The Springs. I only have one item in the bin to work but I do have some pretty easy patterns from Shipshewana, as well as some of the fabric for said patterns, that I could work on. Hmmm??

How to Make a Sizeable Table Runner in a Day

I started this and then we took off for Bittersweet Quilt Shop. What a darling quilt shop. If you need ANY Tilda or Lori Holt fabric/items, she's your best bet to find them.  

We also did some other errands after we dropped off the quilt and are finally home. Chicken and Waffles for lunch today...my favorite!

Yesterday I had a bee up my behind to make a table runner for our dining room table. The bar also needs one and I picked up supplies for that today while at Bittersweet.

Anyway. The table runner was in the quilting process when I shut Bernie down around 8:00. I plan on finishing that today. 

Here are all the steps to completing something a little more intricate in a day. My dumb photos came in reverse as I wanted them to so start at the bottom and work your way up.

What's going in

On the frame!

Auditioning the little stars

Getting the big square together

Making HTS's (my fav...NOT)!

Pulling the fabrics

The video that started it all

I'll be working some more on this this afternoon once lunch is done and we've cleaned up the kitchen. 

Ever Heard of Blue Emu?

A few of my quilting customers recommended Blue Emu for the arthritis already setting into my previously broken hand. I just tried it for the first time. A. Game. Changer!

Since Jim started un-decorating yesterday, the house is looking pretty barren. How did I live here before the holiday? The table and the bar both need a winter table runner put on them. I have Christmas ones, but no 'wintery' themed runners, so today, instead of doing what I should be doing, I'm doing that instead. Bernie is free right now and I'll use him to quilt the first one up today once it's finished. 

Yesterday I did not turn on any of the long arms. I had to do a LOT of administrative work for the business and once I got all that done it was nearly lunch time. I pulled fabrics and started cutting for the next AWAT set of blocks. 

Last night, all five were finished...

Isn't it pretty?

Before I worked on those though, I forgot (and didn't remember) until I pulled open the photos app on my phone, other things I worked on. The first was a Spartan football pad for under the hopper and to hold the remotes...

A football field

I remembered a video I received recently on building storage boxes and made one for the brochures for our upcoming early spring retreat...

Much better

The previous one I made was too small and this one, though a little too big, will work as needed.

Merry New Year

And all the decorations are starting to come down. It's the saddest part of the holiday for me to see the house return 'back to normal' after all the festive items have been collected. We always have to leave a tote with easy access because sometimes we find stuff for weeks after the holiday.

I worked on AWAT to start my day after returning from groceries. The block did not turn out well, and, if I have enough fabric left over, will be redoing that block. For now, it's in the tote with the others, but I'll make notes to get it redone if permissible when I get to it in the setting.

Here are a few other things I worked on yesterday...

I plan to continue on with these today while Jim is packing up the house. We have very few his-chores-her-chores in our lives, but this is one of those Jim chores I don't normally participate in. It makes me too sad.