Lighting

The lighting this time of the year in the studio is weird. The leaves are still on the trees, and the sun is falling in the horizon, giving it an even greater amount of shade (and darkness) despite it being sunny outside. 

I would like to take a kayak ride later today or tomorrow. Check out some of our blooming colors and see what's going on with our dam. I heard some ruckus down there this morning so maybe they're starting?

Mary's quilt was finished yesterday. Then I put on Linda N's top...

Linda's Beautiful Embroidery

And believe it or not, all she wanted in here was a very loose edge-to-edge. I was cringing as it was stitching out. But I selected a very fine thread and it didn't blemish the embroidery at all. 

After that was done, and after lunch was finally eaten, I loaded this quilt top for Joni...

Joni's antique top

She gave me a book that this came out of and it has a very clear pic on the quilting, which is what Joni wants me to put into it. No thinking on my part. 

I got another row done on the 9-Patch quilt-along last night as well as some border work, two long sashings, and three vertical sashings in before I was tired enough to get out of the studio. 

I have two customers coming today; one to pick up and another to drop off. Both of their names end in -ette. Isn't that funny?

Jim's Home Again

If this man takes more than a day off work, he's certainly not in a good way.  Despite him being home, I still have to work. He's camped out in the spare bedroom downstairs; it's too hard to walk up the stairs since this thing causes one to be very dizzy. 

Lucy is worried about her dad

I'm removing all the markings on Mary's Dream Bigger quilt. Some of them are from the Marks-be-gone water soluble pen, which often times, requires a few treatments before disappearing entirely.

The morning sun really enhances the otherwise obscure quilting

I'm going to remove and trim this piece once all the markings are removed and then load the next one in line. Bernie and I are still getting to know one another (wow, he's so light I'm having to learn how to make circles all over again). I got the first row quilted in the 9-Patch and will work on that some more later tonight. 

At some point, I need to run out for a few supplies, but I'll do that after lunch. Looks like we finally get to see some sun today; it's been gloomy since Sunday so that will make errands much more enjoyable. 

Day Four

Did I mention that it takes four days to work one of these Dream Bigger panels? This will be day four and I should be able to finish it up today. 

Here's some more quilting detail on a few of the petals...

Leafy Frond

Fun Circles

Sometimes just a loop meander is all that's needed

Here's a little quilting detail on the Bernie load...

Borders and Sashing are started at least

Customer coming today to drop off. I have another two coming Friday to pick up and drop off both. Looks like things are back to the norm for me. Jim, however, is home sick today. Which is weird. He hasn't been home with me sick since he had his ankle surgery 18 months ago. I hope he doesn't mind all the noise. 

Almost There

I worked almost a full day in the studio yesterday. It was well after dark before I came out. I wasn't breaking any speed records but it was wonderful to be back in there!

Here's some of the quilting detail going into the Dream Bigger panel I'm working on...

One of the smaller leaves

Always have to have one spiderweb

I'm just about at the half-way point on this huge project. Here's what's on Bernie this morning...

9-Patch Quilt-along with Natalia Bonner

Natalia is a wonderful quilter, who until recently, quilted for other people. Now she teaches remotely and has her own line of rulers; some of the best in the industry as far as I'm concerned. She has hosted a 9-patch quilt-along three times over the years. I'm going to pull my favorites from her three "classes" and just play with my new ruler base on Bernie over the next couple of days. 

I had to machine piece the backing for this 9-Patch and Ellie sewed it together perfectly. The only other thing I have to do today is make a pot of chili...which I'll do later this afternoon since I don't want to smell like cooked onions all day long. 

Not on Vacation

No. I haven't been absent because I was on vacation. This is where I've been...

Ding. Covid Round 2.

Don't I look excited?

I'm going to try to function today somewhat. I'm already nearly an hour behind my normal day but most everybody has been told to stay away from here. I took advantage of it and caught up on a few chores, slept in, and lallygagged this morning. 

I'm still kind of weak and shaky. I'm not going to be breaking any speed records for anything I do but this is day five and frankly, my butt can't take sitting around any more. 

Jim did some stuff in the studio for me while I was quiet. He hung my autumn banner, vacuumed the studio floor, and got the new Elna set into the table that the HQ Stitch used to sit in. He did a marvelous job!

Ellie's new home

I did get the machine threaded and tested yesterday. It sews like a dream (as does her brother, the Janome 1600P), so I'll be piecing with this machine going forward; when I have the time/health to be able to do so. 

Thunder Boomers

Just after waking this morning I heard thunder off in the distance. By 8:30 this morning it looked like it was 8:30 in the evening. Even the mercury and solar lights in the neighborhood were lit. Thankfully, it passed through rather quickly and now it's just really cloudy. Jim called and said there was a rainbow in the NW.

Huge rainbow

I don't long arm during thunder storms. I can't chance the machines getting hit. 

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

We've seen one of these before haven't we?

This will be on the frame for the next four days, which is how long it takes me to do one of these Dream Bigger panels. 

The small piece on Bernie is still on Bernie. I've got it about half-way completed and am just putting swirls in there to get a feel for the buttons, machine weight, the performance, and how to handle rolling. 

Jim's been working on the new Elna location. He's modifying the HQ 210 Stitch table to accommodate the more robust machine for me. 

The new machines name will be Ellie

He worked until almost dark on this and said he still has some more stuff to do to on it . He's such a great husband!

One last pic of the quilt I took off yesterday. Eye Candy!

And Then There Were Two

A Bernina Q20 and a Handi Quilter Fusion. 

Making the max out of the min

I can't sew/piece much since I'm down to just my little HQ Stitch 210 for domestic machine accessibility, but my love is here with these big machines. I (we) have to figure something else out for the Janome Horizon and my new Elna EF1 (that also arrived yesterday) and the sewing table they usually reside in; which is currently out in the barn in pieces. 

Here's some quilting detail on the Jacqueline piece I'm working on...

Gotta love all that tiny detail work

When I finally got to working yesterday (after my installation guy left at nearly 2:00) I was only able to get about five hours into this. It should be finished up today. 

Once I was done quilting, I worked some more on the Bernina (hereinafter referred to as Bernie). While it looks pretty just sitting there, that's not what it was purchased for and I need to get myself into it quickly. This is what's on Bernie this morning...

One of mine!

Here's the plus side to this machine so far: 1) It's very quiet! 2) It's smaller and less space is required to move around it. 3) It stitches beautifully once you get the thing threaded and tensioned correctly. 4) The lighting is wonderful, even in that dark corner during night time hours. 4) It is very smooth of the frame and the stitches are perfectly spaced!

Here's the downsides I've discovered (but correctable): 1) The take-up leader was installed incorrectly so we have to turn that once this quilt is finished. 2) The dead bar is too close to the head and needs to be raised slightly. 3) I have to pin the backing onto the leaders. Purchasing an additional set of Red Snappers will solve that. 4) There is no way to accurately plumb the top of the quilt. They have channel locks available as an additional purchase so sometime in the future those will be coming. 5) It's set a little too high but I don't have mats in front of it yet to raise me up to where I need to be. I'll be looking for some of those. 6) It's not DW and I'll have to learn my way around this beautiful piece of machinery. Time and use will take care of that. 

I'll know more about the plusses and minuses once I actually get to quilt on it later tonight. So far I've just basted in and played in one tiny corner to check tension, but I'm remaining optimistic since I love to learn and this is my passion.