Time To Get Back To Work

Well the Thanksgiving holidays are over and it was great. I think I spent more time in the kitchen than anything else. Now mind you there was not just the "big" dinner but then there was all the cleanup afterwards. Leftovers to put away and then trying to come up with things to do with those leftovers. I spent half a day just making turkey soup. It sure was good though and there is still some in the freezer for lunches.

Kind of reminds me of quiltmaking. You make the quilt and then have to clean up afterwards. Then there are all the scraps to deal with. I don't know about you but I save anything big enough to make a triangle that will make a half square triangle that will be 1" finished size in a block................that is pretty small. Then you have to spend the time to use those scraps as well.

Now that all that feasting and cooking are over it is time to get back to quilting. I did a UFO yesterday. Yep I actually put one of my own tops on the longarm. It was a mystery quilt that I did a couple of years ago. I was not crazy about it so it has been languishing on my pile of tops. Well I just acquired the Koko panot by Jodi Bemish and decided to try it on this top and give it to my mom for Christmas. The quilt is much improved with the little Kokopelli's dancing all over the surface of it now.

While I am waiting for the next Christmas quilt to arrive I will be working on the binding of my mom's quilt. Hopefully that top will arrive in today's mail as I need to get to it ASAP
when it does so I dare not load anything else as all the quilts left here at this point are custom with no deadlines and they will each take some time to quilt. My extra leaders are already on a custom job which requires different thread than my usual so I have to play with tension..............ok so I am not gonna quilt today.

Last Weeks Work

I know this is not the best photo but you can see the interlocking swirls of my new Quilt EZ spiral template. Now do not be fooled as it only looks quick. See that interlocking part........well there is a trick to that and it means stop and start, stop and start and then at the end there are thread tails to tie and bury. I calculated that there were over 1000 thread tails in the queen sized quilt! This design is well worth doing for the beauty but be prepared to spend the time to deal with the stops and starts. There are many other things that can be done with the template and hopefully I will get to play with it again soon. This quilt and the two others are now on their way back home to their owner in a pretty big box. Considering that I also did one other quilt last week that is not bad for getting alot accomplished!

This week it is back to that custom heirloom. I made some good progress on it again yesterday and hope someday soon it will come off the frame finished. It is satisfying to see the beautiful design from the quilting evolve and emerge. I am doing alot of small McTavish and some pebble fill as well in the 13 blocks. The setting triangles are all finished as well as the sashing. I have a couple more blocks for the fill and then I can go back and do larger details in the blocks like little feathers, straight lines and such. Then the border and it will be done.

I cannot believe Thanksgiving is almost here. This week I am making a menu of dishes and getting all the recipes lined up. Then to make a shopping list to ensure I have everything I need. Then I always make a schedule of what to do when so all the dishes are done at the same time with the exception of the pie which goes in the oven as the food goes on the table. Another thing I do the night before is lay out all the utensils, bowls etc each dish needs in its own counter space along with all the non perishable ingredients I will be needing. Then I have the perishable items all organized in the fridge so I know where each is. The worst part of the entire feast is the realization that I spend all day in the kitchen preparing and then it is all eaten in about an hour with about half and hour after for dessert.........................then there is the cleanup! This year my daughters will each be in charge of at least one dish so they will make a contribution and hopefully will have some fun as well.

My New Favorite Toy

I like to do a variety of things on my longarm so when a customer has a request for something I need a new tool or panto for and I like that tool I will get it for their quilt. Ths is how I recentley aquired the Baptist fan templates from the Quilt EZ company. Kinda pricey but I wanted them and figured I would be able to pay for them with a few quilts. Yep they are now paid for as of this week.

Well someone had a beautiful batik quilt and wanted to know what I thought would be a good design so I did my usual research which consists of looking at photos of quilts on the web. I found a really cool swirl and the more I looked the more different things I saw that could be done with that swirl. Quilt EZ made a template for that so I got it. Well I am using it on that batik quilt today and it is my new favorite toy. Boy does this tool make an awesome design. Well the problem is now I will need to make quilt just so I can use this tool for myself. I will post some photos of this quilt and a few others when I get a chance. Likely next week or if I am lucky over the weekend.

Boy do I love my job. How many people can work at home in their jammies (well I am not wearing my jammies today but some days I do) doing something they love. For me quilting is what I love!

Dancing With My Longarm

I am usually a partime Longarm quilter but this last couple of weeks I have gone fulltime! Whoo Hoo the holiday rush has finally arrived for me. I could not be happier at all the business this last couple of weeks! This week I am trying to get 3 large quitls finished and I have done 2 of them already and one charity quilt as well (had to practice that new panto before I tried it for the first time on a customer quilt). I have the 3rd quilt loaded and ready to go tommorow. It is a Quilt EZ swirl and it will be my first try at this pattern...............I jsut love the design and am excited to try this one.

Hopefully next week I will have some photos of the new quilts to share.

Too Much Information

This is our cat Thomas. He is King Cat and resides over the house over all other living creatures that dwell therein. He rules over the dogs and keeps them in line not to mention the people. Mostly he sits up on his cat perch where he can keep an eye on the comings and goings thruout the day. At night he roams the house or curls up on a bed. On cold nights when the house cools off he will borrow under the blankets and curl up quite content with his life.

Wish I could be more like Thomas. Well actually I would likely get bored after the first few days of that. Nope my life if full of activity and things that are in need of being done. I am wife, mother, housekeeper, chauffeur, cook, laundry girl, secretary, counselor, tutor, personal assistant. Oh yes and did I forget to mention Professional Longarm Quilter. Well life is sure full and busy with two growing girls and a husband that is most used to referring to me as stay at home mom since the youngest was about one year old. After reading another blog this morning, well I have read quite a few other blogs this morning, not to mention a few quilting websites and I have not even visited all of them yet I came across some real wisdom.

We do live in an age of information. Just think here I sit in rural New Mexico and only wave at my neighbors but never actually speak to them but I converse daily with people from all over the globe without leaving the house. I can while away tons of time in front of (not the TV) but the computer. In fact I do not watch much TV. Nope I am a computer addict.....................ok see there I have said it! The fact is that I go to someones blog and they are describing something. New fabric, new supplies, or some gadget so off I go in search of that on the Internet. Then something else attracts my attention, and on and on. I can just waste away tons of time seeing all sorts of wonderful things on the Internet. I can sit here in my rural house, in my jammies, uncombed hair, and see the whole world. Amazing!

Now I vow to get off this computer and go work on that wonderful sampler on the frame. Yesterday I got the sashing done and had to order more thread. Today I am gonna quilt till I wilt.............................at least that is the plan!

I Changed The Colors of My Blog

Being a person that is all about colors and seeing colors in different ways I was messing around (now I should actually be off quilting). I have been playing with color combinations and features of my blog and came up with this new combo. I would like to hear from you if you like it or hate it, or even if you just don't care either way. Likely I will get bored with these colors and change them again in the comming months. Maybe you remember I began with a black background but soon realized that was too hard on my eyes so went for a softer look. Ok tell me what you think!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I have been hoping for more quilts and seems like everyone is coming out of the woodwork asking for quilting lately. I am so excited! I think I am gonna be pretty busy this month and likely next month as well. I am beginning to feel like people are finding me.

There are gonna be some decisions along the way as I have been getting requests for some (quilts from scratch) lately. One person only gave me colors and she wants something traditional.............nothing else. Now that is gonna be a challenge but then I love challenges. Figure I will get on my thinking cap and come up with a few options from simple to somewhat more complex in a variety of prices and see which one she likes.

My big challenge is going to be trying to get something ready for Machine Quilters Showcase. I downloaded the entry forms from the shows after seeing the links on Suzanne's site. Figure if I keep a schedule and get going now I will be ready. I do have a pile of my tops so just need to quilt something...................now that is easier said than done because my last quilt logged 40 hours of quilting time on the longarm. Thank goodness for zippered leaders so I was able to work between customer quilts. Now to decide on a top!

Meeting Myself Comming And Going!

Have you ever felt frozen to even do anything because of the sheer volume of all the things you have to do. It seems like my life has become a juggling act in the last half year. I just have too many acts and hats to maintain and want it all simpler. Being wife, mother, soccor coach, Ways And Means Chair in my guild, taxi driver for the kids and Professional Longarm Quitler.

I have to put up quilts for a craft show as part of my guild duties tomorrow. Then Sat I have to coach soccor and go back to work at the show and take it all down. Come Sunday soccor will be over, the show will be over and maybe there is a chance that things will calm down a bit. I kinda feel like I just want to sit and work on my quilting and relax with nobody asking me for this and that.

Well already I feel the pull of having to get off the computer to go get things done around here, then there are all the helpers for the quilt show I need to call to remind them where and when to be, soccor certificates to make up for the end of the season party on Saturday, have to straighten up the house..............................looks like a hurricane has blown thru here and I do not have clean clothes to wear much less can find the floor of the closest.

Ok time for a list and a prayer that next week I will be able to recoup and just take a deep breath and begin a more relaxed daily routine!

Ok Fall Is Over, Now Its Winter

Well at least it seem like winter. It is snowing outside. Well at least flakes are comming out of the sky even if they are not sticking they are here. Last night the wind was blowing so hard I thought the roof might blow off the house or I might wake up with the house next to the Yellow Brick Road. It has been blowing all day too and the temperature has been dropping. Dark clouds were brewing to the North and then finally we get flakes. Now we have a fire going. When you live at 7000 feet seems like Winter comes sudden and fast!

I got my leaves pinned to the 2nd quarter of the log cabin border today and now need to get them all appliqued on. I am so hopping to get them on this week so I can put the vines on the next section. The more I work on this top the better I am liking it.

I Hate To Clean House!

I so hate to clean house but even worse I hate a messy house. I guess I have let things go and today was cleaning day at least downstairs. I only have the energy to clean one floor per day and the upstairs will have to wait till next Friday. The problem is yes I did have a housekeeper but got tired of paying her good money and then I would bust my buns to get ready for her and tidy up. Then after she left there were always those things not done. No spider webs cleaned off the walls or ceiling, no baseboards dusted and believe me living in the desert there is dust, no deep cleaning in the corners and crevices. I noticed the shower doors one day and they were looking like a microbiology experiment. Well it was time for her to go so I gave her the boot. Well now instead of helping every other Friday I get to clean one floor each Friday.

The worst thing about all the work is that is just does not stay clean. By the end of the week it is time to do it again. Yikes! I think of other things I could do instead of clean. I could quilt, sew, play on the computer, draw, go for a walk, play with the dog and a whole bunch of other things. Guess it is better to clean than the alternative of having to walk thru all the mess as that is just no plain fun either.

The good news is that I have been working on my applique border the past two days. I got all the flowers sewn on the second corner now and am starting to do the leaves. Once the leaves are done (and they go pretty fast and easy) it will be time to put vines on corner number three. It is finally beginning to look really nice when I lay it out.

Done

I finally finished and delivered this quilt. It was on my frame for what I thought was forever but really only 10 days. I did not work on it each of those days but I did spend quite a large amount of time on it. The quilt is 100x100 and then there were two matching pillow shams (photo on the left). I did load all three items on the frame together. The shams on the left side one above the other and then the quilt to the left. This took up most of the space on my frame (14 foot frame). I did use my Reneas Amazing Arcs for the spines of the feathers that went diagonal across the entire quilt. They really were amazing as the 23 inch one was just perfect for the right curve. Then in the borders I used another curve tool that is made for feathers and this also made for really nice feathers. The customers husband was most excited when I delivered the quilt and loved it so much he went across the street to have the neighbor come over and see it.

Well now I have the sampler back on the frame and I am gonna work on it exclusively till it is finished. I am going to try some new things on this one and will post photos when it is done.

The weather here has gone from cool to cold! The trees are beginning to drop the gold leaves as well. Seems like Fall came and is almost gone. At least the colorful part of Fall. I bet it will not be long before we get our first snow of the season.

On The Home Stretch

Anyone that uses a longarm knows that when you unpin your quilt and turn it for those borders along the side you are on the home stretch. Boy all I can say is that I way underestimated the time that this one would take. Now how hard can it be to do some feathers all across the quilt on the diagonal. Well when the King sized and there are two pillow shams with it. The quilt has been on the frame now since the beginning of the month. I am so hoping to finish today and get it off my frame. I will say that is is a very striking quilt and the feathers look really awesome. I will have to file this experience away in my memory that it takes time and effort. I will post some photos of this one when it is finished.

I wish I could say I had something quick and easy to do next........................nope! I have another high end custom job that is already partially done to finish up. I guess this means that I will be spending a lot of time with my machine trying to get that one out the door as well.

At least I am busy and for that I am grateful.