The mad rush begins!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Today begins the mad dash to Christmas in this country.  I have decided not to make myself crazy this year.  I am working on my last client quilt due before Christmas...it'll be done by Monday.  I am down to my last 3 client quilts due for our Guild show in February.  And I have actually started working on MY quilts for the 2009 show season!  Mary's quilt is done( except for binding) and ready for Mid Atlantic Quilt Fest (if it gets juried in); I'm almost finished my Christmas postcards.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    We have company coming in this weekend for a week or so; I leave for Maryland after that, and the weekend after I get home, more company coming.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       This is my November postcard for our family exchange.  My Internet connection was out, and then I forgot to post it, so here it is.  It is all felted wool.  A very funky turkey..lol

And this is the client quilt I finished a couple days ago.  Hope you like it Joyce!

Her mother cross stitched the center panel...Vicki, I know you'll appreciate that.  Joyce designed the quilt to fit the piece her mother had done.  A wonderful tribute, and I am honored to have been asked to quilt it.  Joyce won't get it until next Friday, but she'll be watching for these pictures.
I used Quilters Dream Wool batting and Superior's "So Fine" thread.
I did 'longarm feathers' in the blue and red borders, but 'formal feathers' (over the top feathers) in the beige border surrounding the cross stitch medallion. Pumpkin seed in the inner red border as well as the beige strip top and bottom.
There was a discussion a few days ago on MQR asking if plain old stippling was dead.  I don't think so.  While I love doing fancy background fills,  there are times when you just want the background to disappear.  Nothing does that better than tiny plain old stippling.  That was the effect I wanted for this quilt....and that plain old standby stippling did the trick.  
Thanks for joining me, and have a great night!

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Back online!

Our internet went out Sunday morning.  Comcast came today.  We have broadband (cable modem) into the house, and then I had set up a wireless network within the house, so that we could access the internet from anywhere without being 'wired'.  Well Sunday, the whole kit and kaboodle went down.  After an hour on the phone with comcast trying various fixes, and 2 hours on the phone with Linksys, and another hour with HP, still nothing.  Today, the comcast tech arrived. The problem was two-fold.  1st...our cable connection was very poor...the line coming into the house from across the street is bad.  So that means, they have to come dig up the street...re-lay all the lines and replace the lines to and within the house.   2 weeks till it's all done.  BUT, they were able to rig a temporary solution for the interum.                                              2nd....my wireless card inside my laptop computer croaked...so it doesn't recognize the wireless network within my house.  Well, crap!  And of course, the laptop is out of warranty.  So, my solution was to go to radio shack and buy a USB wireless adaptor.  Yahoo!   back in business again.  And hopefully with in 2 weeks all the land cables will have been replaced and we have a good, strong signal.

On the good news front,  I have finished the last quilt you saw a glimpse of...photos tomorrow or the next day. And I got this cute postcard from my Aunt Nancy as a part of our family Nov. exchange. 

Hers is much cuter than mine, which was also a turkey...only a freeform cut one out of felted wool.  I'll find the pictures and post them later.

Other than that, all is OK here and hopefully getting back to normal.

Have a great night!

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I've been tagged...twice!  1st by Gina, then by Randi.   Same theme.  Post the 4th picture of the 4th month of your blogaversary.   If I understood right, this is the photo.  A client quilt that I had just finished.  Very pretty quilt,  though I remember dodging all those 3-D elements!It's still cold here!  can you believe it?  It's getting real old, and Harry is really pissed!  This is seriously cutting into his lizard hunting, because he doesn't like to go out in the lanai when it's cold. So he stays inside, underfoot and whining.....

OK, back to the tag....I'm suppose to tag 4 others to do the same. Let's see; I tag Yvonne, Gayle, Barbara and Kay.

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I love feathers!

First, I got the first coat of paint on the buttons I had done.  Though Vicki pointed out they have only one hole...so I guess technically speaking, they aren't buttons.  I like the look of one hole better, and I'll be attaching them with a bead.Now the feathers...as I said, I LOVE feathers!  Especially small, dainty feathers. That is the other thing I did today.  This border is 2 inches wide.

I just love these baby feathers!  Granted, they aren't as quick...but look how cute they are.

Another cold night...fire is on, and the cats are snuggled together in front of it.  Have a great night!

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Guess who's TWO today!!!

Happy Birthday Fiona!!!
Wow, two years old...where does the time goes!


We love you and miss you!  Have a wonderful day sweetie.

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First, I don't know why blogger rotated the photo.  Oh Well, you get the gist.  I made buttons today.  I obviously decided on the shells.  I finally got the proportions figured out. These are thin, but thick enough to show the detail of the shell.   I made 78 today.  Ran out of clay and reordered.  I'll finish the rest later in the week when the clay order comes; then I'll paint and glaze them.I am really happy with these...so much so, that I'll probably make all my buttons from now on!

We're having a little cold snap here.  Chloe insisted the fire be turned on.   Tonight will be in the low 40's and tomorrow (and the next 3 days) only in the low 60's during the day and 40's at night!   Yeah, yeah...I hear you all snickering, but this is South Florida!  It's supposed to 80 here in the winter!

And yes, I'll have some cheese with my whine.

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Time sure gets away from me....

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted!  Well, I've been keeping busy, teaching classes and working.  Every now and then I sneak in some time to make a few buttons and work on a couple of my own tops.  This is the quilt finished that I gave you an in progress peak of last post.
The client wanted no quilting in the machine embroidered blocks.  I did stitch them in the ditch.
I really think they could use some quilting, but...it's not my quilt.

The pink and green borders are less than an inch wide, so I just stitched in the ditch between them.

She wanted leaves and feathers, so that's what I did.

And this is a shot of the back.

A cool front is coming this evening, so we'll get a little break from the heat.  Hope it doesn't get too cold!  My kitties won't like it at all.  Maybe they'll get another fireplace day.

Have a great night!

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A day off!

We all took the day off...LOL  Harry and Chloe took full advantage!Me?  I had a good day.  I worked some on my red/black&white quilt...I know; you'll get pictures when I'm a little further along!

I also made 2 more sets of napkins; worked on the drawing for my next wholecloth; sat in the sun and read for a while; talked to Yvonne a little bit on the phone; worked on my quilting design for the next client quilt in que; And filled out the entry form for and took the photos for the Mid-Atlantic Quilt fest entry.  

That entry is Mary's quilt that Mother made and I quilted...well, almost finished...lol. Obviously the photo closeup was of the part I have finished! Speaking of MAQF...they have changed the rules this year.  Any quilt that is done (even in part) by someone who has taught quilting for money, quilted for money, ever won a ribbon in a show, etc...has to enter the "Master" category(which is new this year).    

Not that it makes a difference...I have always gotten juried into that show....but never won a ribbon there.  

But, hopefully I'll get juried in again this year so that Mother will be able to see her work hanging in a national show for the first time.  Even though it won't win a ribbon there...just hanging will be a great thrill for her.  SO keep your fingers crossed we get juried in!

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Can you stand more napkins?

two more sets; the tropical ones (for me!) and a Christmas set for a friend.

OK, I'm done with the napkins for a while...I need to get back to work!

Have a great night!

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The napkin pattern

For those who asked about the napkins...

The pattern is called...are you ready? The Napkin Pattern!

Mary bought it at;

the Quilting Cupboard

1627 North Broadway

Rochester, MN 55906

and the website is: www.thequiltingcupboard.com

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A little work; A little fun

Well, the pattern and fabric Mary sent me didn't sit idle long! This napkin pattern is just too cute! I made a set of 8 from the fabric she sent me this morning. This is what they look like..folded both ways. Pretty, aren't they! So, since it only took 30 minutes to make all 8...I made another set of eight!

And, then cut out 8 more out of these fabrics. Cool huh!

Then, I figured I'd better do some work... so I did...
And here is a peek

Off to cook dinner and watch the returns of this historic election!

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The word of the day

VOTE!!!!!

We voted on the first day of early voting here. But if you haven't done so yet, make sure you do today!

Remember, it's your responsibility as a citizen .

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Amazing mail day!!

First, Mary sent me this cool napkin pattern and the fabrics to make them! How cool is that...don't even have to go out for fabric...LOL! Pretty fall fabrics...make me homesick for Virginia! Thank you Mary! And the mailman also brought me a package from Vicki! A very cool tie dye shirt! The picture does not do the color justice...it's an incredible black and red. Thanks Vicki...I LOVE it!!

And she also sent one in LSU colors for Don (he went to Med school at LSU) The purple is right on...even though it looks a little blue in the photo---it's not. He is thrilled! And the other shirt, she sent him as a bonus for finally getting my design wall done! Vicki, you are amazing, girlfriend! Thanks a bunch. Don is in tie dye heaven..LOL!!!

I did a little work too, photos when I'm done. But it was a terrific mail day! Thanks again Mary and Vicki!

Have a great night!

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Finished!

I should have taken a photo of my studio floor! This fabric put out tons of red lint! It is good quality quilt shop fabric from a good name manufacturer, but wow! I've never seen so much lint in my life. Still, it quilted up nicely. The light is not real good today, but you can get the jist. I did sqaure hibiscus wreaths in the alternate blocks with a heart center. SID in the star blocks with a hibiscus in the center and hearts in the corners. The hearts are tossed randomly.

In the red border I did my little feathered flower fill, and ba-bump feathers in the gold border. The black border is actually a 1 inch wide flange.

So Fine thread colors "marigold" and "scarlet". warm bond batting. This was the first time I've used Warm bond. It is their 70/30 cotton/poly blend. It quilts nicely, had a fairly good loft, and stays soft even with all this dense quilting. I'd use it again.

Hope you remembered to set your clocks back...Have a great night!

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