-3 This Morning

And the furnace just keeps on running. Wait until I open the other studio door, then it probably won't ever shut off. 

Started both Pat and Barbs second quilts yesterday. I tried to get a pic of Pats, and here it is...

The sun was a welcome addition

It's supposed to be mostly sunny today too. But it messes with the eyes. The thread I'm using is very blending so it's hard to see what/where I'm at while quilting this out. 

I didn't grab a pic of Barbs quilting so far. It was dark out and this next one is dark thread on dark fabric and the pics were not coming out at all. I'll continue to work two these through today. I've put on my warmest, fleece-lined leggings and my warmest fleece top to stay warm out there in the window-lined studio. BRRRR!

Happy Monday Morning

And what a beautiful view I have to work with all the new fallen snow. Here's what's on DW today...

Pats second quilt top

I still don't know what I'm going to put into this one. I went to sleep last night thinking about it and have come up with a few ideas.

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

Barbs second of four

I do have an idea about what's going into this one. But things can change once I start laying down thread.

I did this block in the FGV2 top yesterday...

Watermelon and Fork

I have the next block cut out and ready to piece maybe later tonight. And, in case there's any interest, here's the new kitchen floor. 

Partially completed at this point

Happy Monday!

We Got Our Snow

About seven inches of the fluffy stuff. It's so pretty out there. This is my Farm Girl Vintage block for yesterday...

Pretty Tulips

I was able to get Pats first quilt off and then I loaded this...

What's going on here?

This ended up turning into this...

Dog slobber catcher for our new floor

Then I started frame ironing Pat and Barbs second back while cutting out for today's FGV2 block. 

Winter Storm Warning

We get these winter storm warnings and then nothing ever happens. We have one beginning at 7:00 tonight through tomorrow morning. We'll see. 

Pat and Barbs first quilts are done. They are still on the frames but now that we have hair cuts out of the way I can get those unloaded, trimmed, and billed and then re-load for Monday morning. I did get another FGV2 block done last night...

I'll quilt some bees in here when I long arm it

Bee happy quilting!

Self Care

Had to take some time out this morning to color my hair. It was looking pretty dull. 

Pat's quilt is not quite half done. But now that I know what I'm putting into it, it'll go quicker. Sometimes half the battle is trying to figure out a quilting plan and what each block/border/sashing strip should get. And they should be cohesive, not just some random pattern that doesn't work with the others.

Here's some of the quilting detail going in...

Three borders/sashing strips to decide on 

Barbs blocks are all done. I just need to get the final borders completed and then I can load her second top. My visiting customers yesterday ended up rescheduling partly due to colds, partly due to the roads. I was looking forward to having some socialization this week, but this gave me ample time to throw down some thread. 

I cut out for the next FGV2 block but didn't have enough energy to get it together last night. Maybe tonight?

Threads Matter

The thread I was using in Terry's quilt yesterday was a Superior Thread. An Omni-V (V is for variegated). Superior threads have never disappointed me. Neither have Fil-Tec threads (Glide and Premosoft). For piecing I prefer Aurofil. But I've been told YLI makes a very nice piecing thread, so next time I send in a long arm thread order, I'm going to throw one of those into the order as well and give it a try.

Why do threads matter other than not having the headaches of pulling threads out that perform poorly? How about the lint factor? I see the lint build-up when I use a lesser quality thread in my long arm. I can only imagine what it does in a domestic machine. Breakage. Pulling off the spool. Lasting over the long run. Just a tip of the iceberg when choosing a thread. 

I'll stick to what works, what has less lint, what I know is long lasting, what is backed by company standards. 

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

Pat's first of two

I've been planning this one out in my head since loading last night. I have so many things I want to do in here, but since it's going to be a utility quilt and she doesn't want heavy thread in there, I've had to check myself. 

Here is a little of what I put into Terry's quilt yesterday...

A nice hook swirl to soften the piece up a bit

I did get another row in on Barbs quilt last night (once again, while Jim was laying kitchen flooring), so only one more to go on her first quilt, and I managed to get another block done in FGV2...

Cute Zinnia

I have customers coming over sometime today to drop off and it's going to be hard to concentrate on quilting since the snow we received all of yesterday is so darn pretty. And the sun is occasionally showing itself making it all even prettier. 

Con Ed

Like anything one is passionate about, there is always continuous education, or learning that happens with the craft. Yesterday, while working on Terry's quilt, I found myself needing less and less markings to make what I was doing happen. Light bulb. It was like taking off the training wheels. 

I have a tendency to over mark things, which is good, because I don't miss my end points, but it takes a lot of time to get the marks laid down, and then to removing them is another time consuming task. I still watch a lot of videos, subscribe to many other long arm quilting blogs/IG's/YouTube channels so I try to learn every day, but nobody has eluded to marking an octagon. I can't imagine why. 

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

Terry B's second quilt top

This is going to be getting an E2E treatment, but I'm driving. I'm using (once again) a weird thread, and I want to be in control this time in case we have any thread mishaps (like the QOV last week). 

I didn't get anything done on Bernie last night. Jim was laying more flooring in the kitchen (YAY) and I was in and out of there seeing if he needed help, cleaning under the stove (ewww), and the dogs were in a dither about all the noise. They kept circling in and out of the studio and getting under my feet.

I did manage to get a FGV2 block done though in between frame ironing Terry's back for today and helping Jim out...

Barn Kitty. She'll get eyes and whiskers when it's long armed. 

Here's where Lucy hangs out in the morning. She looks so delighted...

What a life

We are finally getting a little snow this morning and I'm not expecting any visitors today, so it should be a productive day despite my poor sleep last night. Hot flashes a-mundo.