Helpers

My plan today was to start quilting the quilt I loaded yesterday. I did and got about 1/3 done. Then, I took a break and made some sheets of silk fusion as samples for my upcoming class. Then, I was going to cut this batting that had been donated for making charity quilts by our guild president. Well, as you can see from the photos, Chloe and Harry thought this looked pretty interesting! I figured I'd have to close them out of the room to get it done, but......

then they found the box!! Way more fun than the batting!
So, once they were occupied, I was able to get it cut...all 40 yards!

Moving along

Don's birthday was earlier this month and I had gotten him a USB turntable that digitizes old lp's to burn onto CD's. He has this huge collection of old LP's. So he has been working on converting them to CD's. I am amazed at the sound..better than the records! Boy technology is an amazing thing! And for those of you that are my age (or better) you'll remember this one...It was Buddy Holly's first album.

I took a picture of the album cover and then sized and printed it for the CD label. He loves this present. Which is great because it's hard sometimes to find something he really wants.

Sounds like Mary got her wireless network up and running. She had more trouble with it than I did. Mine was really just plug and play...good thing 'cause I'm just barely computer literate. She bought the same router I have, but hers didn't install as easily. Fortunately, their customer support was top notch and she got it done quickly. It is so nice to be able to move around and not be tied by wires.

Busy day

Well, Harry is feeling much better today. And I was very productive. I got 1 quilt loaded and quilted . Got a second quilt loaded and about 1/3 done. I ordered the supplies for my textile group workshop the beginning of August that I am leading; and got my handouts done for it. Tomorrow after guild, I'll finish the quilt that's on the machine, and then do my samples for the workshop.

This weekend, I will finish my design work on my next quilt. At MQS I bought some fusible ribbon. http://www.kreinik.com./kshop/product.php?productid=139&cat=8&page=1 They had used it to finish the edge of applique and I liked the look. So with the fabrics that I dyed yesterday and last month, I'm going to try it.

Harry's home

Well, Harry is home after his ordeal at the vet today. The vet said he did very well. He is a little sleepy, but eating well. He has a little bruising and he walks a little funny, but otherwise moves around pretty well. Chloe has been a very good nurse...laying beside him and giving him lots of baths. Probably trying to get the "vet" smell off him. And he weighed almost 6 lbs!!! He's only 4 months old.... he weighs twice what Chloe did at that age. But then again he will be a very big boy when he's grown. And above are yesterday's fabrics, all washed and dried. Got lots of beautiful "sky" fabric and also lots of good for applique flowers and such too. I need to get a bigger tub for marbleing though. That fabric makes such pretty flowers and leaves....so much texture and depth.

Dyeing fun

Today was spent dyeing fabric, one of my favorite activities! While labor intensive, the process is fun. I have been doing this for years, and I have a pretty good idea of the general look I'll get; but I always get a least 1 unexpected piece each time. The hardest part, is letting them batch. I'm always so anxious to see the end result. But with dyeing you don't know exactly what you have till it's batched overnight and rinsed, washed and dried. So here's just a little taste of today's work as it batches. Tomorrow evening, I'll post the finished product.
The piece above was done using shaving cream as a medium. The 2 below were direct application.

Aren't the colors luscious! There are more more baggies too with other colors; reds,purple,greens,rust.

I also did some low water immersion too. Even made a brown, Mary would like that!

Tomorrow morning Harry goes to the vet to be neutered....poor baby! And then it's back to work quilting for me.

A better day

Well, today is much better than yesterday. Harry is fine after his foray in the swimming pool. And I was able to finish the quilt I had on the frame at the time of yesterday's pick-up roller fiasco. I have also made contact with my dealer and I now have my new table on order, along with a new machine. My dealer made me an offer I couldn't refuse. So I'm getting a new machine (just like my old one, only new) and a new table that that is a foot longer. So all is good.

Thanks to those of you who were kind enough to reassure me that my fish and lures in the previous post do indeed look like fish & lures.

And I also had a question about the kimono quilt. The butterflies are not trapuntoed. It's just the batting and the dense background fill. But the batting makes a huge difference in the look. I used Quilters' Dream "Puff" and then a layer of Quilters' dream Midnight poly-request loft over it because of all the black in the top. I always worry about bearding with dark tops, so I usually just put a thin black batting over my main batting for those tops if I need to. Dream puff and Dream wool are my favorite battings...not affiliated with Quilters Dream...just a very happy customer:)

Tomorrow is my dye day, then after that it's back to work to pay for this new machine & table!

What a day!

First thing this morning, this sweet little boy was running around the lanai like a crazy man and fell in the pool! I knew it was only a matter of time and so he was never out there unsupervised. He screamed and then swam like a champ and had pulled himself out before anyone got to him! And the amazing thing was he hit the water swimming! His head never got wet!! Maybe this experience will slow him down a little. Probably not, though.
And then as I was quilting a quilt for my cousin my take up roller broke! Scared me to death! All I could think of were all the quilts I have stacked up waiting. I always do full floats, but this particular quilt had major "issues" so for the 1st time in a couple years I had pinned this top to the roller. Well, now I have to unpin it, get the broken roller off and substitute the top roller for the take up roller, put the leader back on and I can quilt again. So e-mails off to my dealer. I was getting a new table anyway soon, so I guess it's now. After all that I didn't feel like quilting any more so I decided to embellish some fabric for a new project. These are rubbing done on black moda marble with iridescent copper paintstiks. I love this stuff!

These are so easy to work with and so versatile. http://www.lauramurraydesigns.com/ has great ideas for using them as well as many other things.

So, I was able to salvage a crazy day! Tomorrow, after sorting out the table problem with my dealer, I guess I'll have to finish the quilt with "issues".

Back to work

Well the house is back to normal and the laundry done, so I'm back to work! This quilt was made by the LQS owner's daughter for her husband. He loves to fish, so fish I quilted. I filled in with lures and hooks. My husband says they look like mice! Oh well, I tried!

You can see the more detailed shots on my photo site and decide if they look like fishing lures or mice!
And, then there is this beauty! What fun this was to quilt! This customer always does gorgeous work. Those 3-D petals were the devil to work around though. Even though I pinned them back so I could do background fill down into the pockets, I still kept catching them. But it was worth the aggravation not to have unquilted areas showing under them.

So I did get some accomplished this week. The next quilt is loaded and ready to go. I also have been working on handouts for my textile groups' next workshop that I am hosting next month. We will be making our own "fabric" from Angelina and silk fusion. And Tuesday, is my "dye" day this month. I usually set aside 1 day a month to dye fabric for my own projects. Now I just need to take the time to MAKE the projects! So I feel good about my work progress this week. Unlike my "helpers" below who fell asleep on the job!

They're Gone

Well the girls left for home today....it seems very quiet around here. Even the cats have been pacing around looking for them. Kara wanted to stay longer, but Kelly doesn't think she's old enough yet to fly alone (she's 11) and I think in this day and time with all the threats of terrorism, maybe she's right. But we had a great week!

So I guess it's back to work for me. I have quilts waiting to be done, the first of which I loaded when I got home from the airport. So vacation is OVER..... spent the afternoon doing laundry and such. So it'll be back to quilting tomorrow!

Day Trip

Today we went to Mote Marine ( http://www.mote.org/ ) what an incredible place! Every habitat indigenous to the sub-tropical Atlantic and the gulf of Mexico is represented. the tanks were wonderful with all the life species represented. And then there were the "petting pools" where you could reach in and touch the critters. Not to forget the mammal hospital where they rehab the whales,dolphins,manatees and turtles. All in all an unforgettable day. Kara is getting hands on a living sand dollar.

And here, we're at the stingray petting pool. They feel just like velvet! And we had our own tour guide with us.

Sam had fun, but it was an incredible day that Kara will remember forever. (and me too!)

Kelly's longarming!

Today, Kelly asked if she could quilt. I said you want to what?? First time interest, so we took advantage. No time to piece, so we picked a pretty piece of fabric from my stash for the top ; and a piece of one of my hand dyed fabrics for the back and loaded them. And she was off and running. We got about 1/2 done before the kids got up from "rest period" and wanted back in the pool. And it looks great!! So, we'll finish it tomorrow. And who knows, maybe we'll get to do another before they leave next week. You know, plant the seed!
She's really concentrating, but she is also having fun!

It's a great visit. And the girls are having a blast in the pool. Tomorrow, we'll be hanging out swimming and quilting. Sunday, we go to Mote Marine for the day.

They're finally here!

Well, my daughter and granddaughters arrived last evening; fortunately the flight was only 45 minutes late. The girls have grown so much!

Of course everyone was anxious to get in the pool first thing after breakfast this morning. And of course didn't want to get out for lunch.
But we did, and after that and a trip to the salon for new hairstyles, they went right back into the pool. Finally tired and waterlogged they came in to watch a movie and get out of the sun for a while.

And here's their Mom.
A wonderful day!

I'm on a roll!

Seems this is the summer for good quilting news for me. Today I got a call that this quilt I had done for a customer won Best of Show in her county fair in Indiana!

So that helped me focus and finish another show quilt for another customer. Now I can get ready for the girls to arrive on Wednesday!

A new day( and computer)

Well today is better. I got a new computer and am in the process of getting my files transferred. Nice to have one that works consistently again.
It rained here all day, so I didn't dwell so much on missing our 4th of July family celebrations. I worked on finishing the 2 quilts that are due the end of this week. Hope everyone had a good 4th.

1 week till the kids arrive...yippee!

Some News

Today I found out that the Venice Area Guilds raffle quilt that I quilted won a second place ribbon at Vermont Quilt Festival. I was quite surprised and very pleased.

That, and my computer crashing was my excitment for the day. Tomorrow hopefully will be calmer. I will be going to buy a new computer first thing though.