Rolling along...into the wall!

I so don't have time for this!  I'm working away on this client's quilt.  It has to be finished this weekend.   I have spent 3 weeks on it so far! Waaaaaay too long!  A sample of my 'issues' here below.  Notice how some sections are perfect, and other...well nowhere near!   AT first I thought it was the thread...nope.I have spent the better part of the the last 3 weeks fooling with this quilt.    I finally isolated the problem ( with help).  The background fabric is a white on white print.  You know, the sprayed on paint type print.  And it's really thick.  As it turns out, all that paint sluffed off in the quilting process and is getting caught in the tension screw of the bobbin and inthe bobbin race and shuttle and causing it to freeze up...stop dead!   Well, I have frogged and frogged and frogged.   The only way I was able to get through this quilt was to stop and clean (with solvent) and oil every 10 minutes or so of quilting.

Well all of the quilting on the white is done, thank goodness.  I'm now finishing up the gold and blue background areas.





The top looks fine, the back, though better after being frogged and re done multiple times...still is not up to my standard, but is as good as it's going to get.  Thankfully the blue and gold fabrics behaved beautifully.

After this beast is off the frame, the machine will be taken apart and thoroughly cleaned , to get rid of all that paint residue...and it's all over the place.   What a mess.   It is so thick in the tracks of the carriage and table, they look solid white. The bobbin case has so much paint residue built up, I have have to take a Q- tip saturated in oil to get it clean each every few minutes. I have quilted lots of fabric, but NEVER have seen anything like this that actually would freeze up the bobbin mechanism.

Hopefully, I'll still be sane when this is done.

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No, I didn't drop off the face of the earth...

I've just been working like a fiend!  With our  guild's quilt show less than a month away I have been busy on all fronts.  I am working on the last client quilt to be done for the show now. Then I'll be able to get mine finished....it'll be down to the wire for mine!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Mother called me last night and reminded me I hadn't posted in a long time.  So, here are some pictures of the last two quilts I finished.  This is Sharon's "Burgoyne Surrounded"

She wanted feathers and and straight lines.  I love two color quilts!


And the back.

And this one belongs to Janice.  This is such a cute quilt. She hasn't gotten it back yet, but wanted to see the photos.  Hope you like it Janice!  

Those are 1/2" 60 degree diamonds in the block backgrounds.

The motif in each cup was taken from the fabric in that particular block.



The border is all one printed fabric. Sometimes these can be challenging to quilt.  I elected to split this one into 4 sections and quilt each section differently.  There is a row of brown diamonds on either side of the 'words'  I just stitched those in the ditch.  The 'word' section I did 1/2" 60 degree diamonds.  And from the swirls section to the edge I did beadboard.  Gives the effect of separate borders.

And I did swirls in the sashing and a loopy thing in the sashing posts.  A fun quilt to do!

The next few weeks are going to be crazy, so don't expect to hear much from me.  But once the show starts I'll have plenty of pictures for you.   After that, life settles down, Whew!

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On the lift at last

Well, after a bit of drama  Trout is finally up on her new home.  There are still a couple adjustments that have to be made by the builder tomorrow, but that will do it.It'll keep that bottom nice and clean and smooth....that translates to speed!

Needless to say, all is right once again with Don's world.  First race with her is one week from today!

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Trout has arrived!

Well, here it is coming up to our backyard docks.  Isn't it just the cutest little thing?  As you can imagine, Don is thrilled.  What fun this little boat is going to be.  A huge change from OuiOui, but change is good. And the way we sail has changed so this will be perfect.  BTW, Vicki...did you notice Don's shirt?? LOL  Good thing he has a bunch of them...he wears one every day! 

It was a beautiful day...not a cloud in the sky.  Fairly light breeze, but this light little boat doesn't need much.

I'm really glad we decided to get the optional hull color...that flag blue hull is just gorgeous.  First thing tomorrow morning the lift techs come to fit the lift to her, so we can get her up out of the water and keep that bottom nice and dry and smooth....she'll be much faster that way!

 Yup, just another perfect day in Paradise!

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A change of direction

I don't call this a New Year's resolution because it was decided a while back, but I have stopped taking new clients for quilting.  And, when I am finished with the backlog of commitments I have on hand, my days of client quilting will come to an end.  Almost...  I will still do an occasional SPECIAL quilt for a long time client.  But those will be few and far between.  Do you realize that I have done nothing for myself other than the hurried class samples in 2 years??  

And yes, I also realize that this is my own fault for not scheduling regular time for my own quilts. But it's hard to do when you're looking at a 6-8 month backlog of client quilts.  I'm tired.  I'm ready to spend my time working on my own quilts and teaching in between....not teaching frantically between mounds of client quilts.

Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed all the client quilting I have done.  Because of that, I have been privileged to work on some amazing quilts.  I have quilted quilts that I would never make which is really fun and challenging.   And, to be perfectly honest....I have quilted a few dogs.  But all in all, quilting for others has been a terrific experience.  I have learned an awful lot...a lot faster than I would have if just quilting my own quilts.  And I won a lot of ribbons from client quilts too. To all my clients, I thank you for the privilege and experience of finishing your artwork.  I believe it has enriched us both.                                                                                                

So, I should have the last of my client commitments finished by early April.   WOW....then all that time for me!  And boy do I have a list of stuff I want to do.  Of course I still have 2 family members quilts to do that I have had for close to a year....They'll be first.

But for now, I'm still working on those client quilts ...and this one is gonna be a beauty!

   

Thanks for listening and have a great night!

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Mary Ann's Quilt

This is a quilt my cousin made and sent me to quilt.  I am embarrassed to say how long I've had it.  She does know that I quilt her tops when I have the time between client quilts...but still.  It's been waiting a long time. Usually I just do an overall for her, but I thought I'd do something special for her this time.I had an instructional video to do for MQR and I had decided to do it on dealing with wide borders, so this top was perfect.

I hope the special quilting makes up for the long wait. Though I do have another one of hers waiting to be done...soon, Mary Ann!



This one will be on it's way to you tomorrow!

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Happy New Year!

Hope everyone made it through last night's celebrations without too much pain. Lame as ever, we didn't make it to midnight...LOL!

I spent the day working on a few  projects for a while, and then decided to take the rest of the day off and read by the pool.  Very enjoyable way to spend the day!  Tomorrow it'll be time time get this new year rolling!

May this be your best year ever!

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