Feeling yucky

The last couple of days have been fairly productive despite me feeling yucky..... again. I finished piecing this quilt that had been promised for Christmas. A clothing memory quilt.



The top was pieced from both bought fabrics and clothing.

The top is lap sized.

I also finished piecing this one for the same person. Another memory quilt but this one is photos.

All the photos are the same size except the one in the center.

It got a 5 inch border added to make it larger. It's also a lap size.

Now the tops are waiting approval of the owner before the quilting can be done. I loaded this one on the machine and have it stabilized. I hope to finish most of the quilting today. This one is part of a group of quilts I promised to have done too.

The final phase of the xmas rush has begun. The next three weeks I'll be in my studio working with one goal in mind....... get em' done!

T-shirt memory quilt

The t-shirt quilt is done except for the binding. The owner of this quilt gave me permission to create and quilt it any way I wanted. I like the way a t-shirt quilt looks when none of the pieces are the same size.



I used the circle lord cross hatching template to create the stitching design. I like it. I will definitely use this design again on something else.

The next quilt is being made from these clothing. Another memory quilt of a mother.

I got as far as the finished blocks before I left for guild meeting. Next will be to add the sashing on the blocks before putting it all together.

I have another quilt top on the machine ready to quilt today. I will piece more of the quilt this evening after I put in a day of quilting. I will need the owner of the clothing quilt to see the finished top before I actually do the quilting though. It will be the last chance to make any changes before the quilting gets done.

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I almost got into a panic mode while watching a little TV last night as I worked. I saw an advertisement for a series of movies to be aired called.... 25 days of Christmas. 25 days?! Oh my! Then I realized the series doesn't start for a few more days. Whew.... thank goodness. Although it still reminds me that there's a lot of work to be done in a very short time.

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Best to get started now..... the work won't get done without me.

T-shirt memory quilt

The t-shirt quilt is on the machine and getting close to being finished. I hadn't planned on working on the machine but I just had to know how this design would look on the quilt. I hope to finish it today, then do the piecing of the other quilt.


I got the nicest email with pictures this morning. My friend Marilyn has a new grandson. He's so adorable! I couldn't stop looking at the pictures. I know the pride she's feeling right now. There's nothing in the world like grandma pride. Every grandmother can understand how we feel.

I didn't know Marilyn was getting a new grandbaby and I was surprised by the news. Which only added to my feelings of guilt for not keeping in touch with her more often. Maybe she told me and I just forgot?

I've neglected my kids and my friends so much this year. I've had so much illness and setbacks on my waiting list this year that I've had to turn down invitations right and left. I do feel guilty about it. Especially with my kids. I really want to do things with my kids or visit with friends; but at the same time I must get the bills paid.

I know how many quilts I must do each month to pay my bills. I do schedule days off that are supposed to be used for visiting the kids or friends. Each day that I'm ill and don't work means I must either work on an off day or something won't get paid. Don't get me wrong, I'm not deeply in debt. I don't have any credit cards. I'm talking about normal living expenses like utilities, medicines, groceries, mortgage payment, saving for house repair work, and things like that.

If I schedule 8 days a month (weekends) for off days and suddenly I'm off my feet for surgery and recovery for 21 days, that still leaves me with 13 days of lost work. The choice then becomes..... do I still take days off for visiting (and not have enough to pay my bills) or do I try to make up the loss by working instead? If I do decide to take a day off after all..... which would I do without.... the utilities, the medicines, the groceries, the mortgage payment?

Machine quilting is not like an outside job where the boss gives you paid sick days. In this business there are no paid sick days or vacation days. A day away from the quilting machine is a day of lost wages.

Someone once told me "Why don't you give up your hobby and get a real job?" Excuse me! This IS my real job. No one (except someone in the business) sees it as anything more than a money making hobby. For toppers quilting is a hobby. For machine quilters it's a business and an income. I may moan and groan about constant stress, continual deadlines, quilts with issues, and isolation...... but, I can't imagine myself with any other kind of job.

This job also has plenty of rewards too..... the surprised look on a beginner topper's face when she sees the quilt issues have disappeared.... to hear from a customer that a deadline quilt won a ribbon.... to see the happiness on a customer's face when a top is suddenly a quilt.... to cry with a customer when they see a passed away relative's clothes changed to something they can wrap up in and remember.... yes, quilting has plenty of rewards too. The rewards make me forget all about the things I moan and groan and complain about.

I'm off to the studio.... another reward is waiting for me to make happen. The t-shirts of the current quilt are the only remaining clothing of a grandmother who has passed away before her first grandchild is born. The baby is due in about 3 weeks but I was told it may be sooner. The quilt will be for the grandchild and mommie to cuddle while mommie tells the baby all about grandma.

Can you understand why I do love my job?
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Clothing memories

I need a break from the quilting machine for a couple of days. I have two quilts that I said I would do my best to make before xmas. This is the first one. It's a t-shirt memory quilt.

If I can get these two pieced over the weekend, that will be all of the piecing for this year. You've probably seen that my posts have gotten shorter these days? It's because internet time can really eat up quilting time. Quilting is the priority for this month.

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Slow weekend

It's been a slow work weekend for me. The batting order didn't arrive as I hoped. The quilt I had wanted to work on is still waiting. I filled in my time with other work. Saturday my sister in law came over to get more lessons. I finished stabelizing these t-shirts for a custom quilt. Now I wait for the owner to come show me placement the way she wants them.




Then I finished this lone star top. The customer came by to see it and has decided she wants a border around it too. It's an inherited top and there is enough left over fabric to make the border. I'll work on that today.



Then I worked on this top. My mother, who is in a nursing home, made the blocks and I'm putting them together.


My daughter has been sick with a fever the last couple of days. I've been taking care of the baby. She is a good baby but it's hard to get any work done with baby things all over the place. It's difficult to move around. I guess its a good thing that the batting didn't arrive.
I have a couple of other custom tops I'll work on today. Both are being made from clothing. I can cut the clothing apart and into pieces while waiting for the owners to bring me the other fabrics. Hopefully, I'll get the other fabrics this week. Christmas will be here before you know it!
Have a good holiday.....

More clothing quilting

Today's finished quilt. It's the clothing quilt I pieced several days ago. The design was the customer's idea. He likes simple designs.


Clothing quilts can be challenging because there is such a wide variety of fabrics.


A simple design needs simple quilting.



You can see how this quilt was created on my helpful hints blog. It's a great way for a quilter to go green! While creating this morning's post, I realized I don't have a quilt for my own bed. I create quilts all the time for my own bed.

As luck would have it.... everytime I finish a quilt I believe will be for my own bed.... there is a birthday or a wedding or a charity in need of a quilt..... so I give them the one intended for my own bed.... before I get the chance to sleep under it. This doesn't look good! A professional quilter should have at least one quilt on her own bed. Even my furkids have quilts of their own. I gotta start another one for my bed.