I need sunshine

The days and days and days of cloudy, gloomy, cold, rainy days are getting to me.  I want to spring clean my house but it seems as if spring just doesn't want to come this year.  Without sunshine to see the sparkle of clean what good is it?  This time of year people should start putting on sunscreen and working outside.  I can't seem to keep myself motivated to do anything and I know it's because I need sunshine!  Come on Mother Nature, wake up and give us some better days.

Well anyway, I do have a quilt finished.  The last one was picked up without any problems.  He actually gave me extra money as a tip because he was very pleased with it.  Here's the next one.   This is the one I quilted as a trade for a printer. 

I don't know if you can see the stitching but I did a star on these blocks.

The star on the plain block is a duplicate of these blocks which are simply stitch in the ditch quilted. 

I did a wavy panto on the border using my Circle Lord template.

The center area is simple outline of the words and the trucks.  Wavy lines on the sashing strips and line dancing on the blue blocks.

Since this quilt is for a child to wag around and play with she didn't want a lot of heavy quilting on it.  I agreed, it didn't need a lot.  Turning it over to let you see the back of the quilt.  The stars I stitched.

The wavy lines on the border.

The line dancing of the blue blocks.

The outline of the trucks.

The next quilt is on the machine.  It is due to be picked up on Friday.  The studio is dark and gloomy because it's raining and cold again today.  Will sunshine ever arrive???

Charity quilts done

The mice are gone.  I remembered an old time remedy for getting rid of mice and tried it.  Peppermint.  I wrote about it on my hints blog.  I'm not sure if the peppermint or the lye and peanut butter mixture got rid of them.  Either way, I'm sure glad they are gone.   Actually, it should be peppermint oil but this is all I had at the time.

The six charity quilts are finished. 

Made from clothing.

Quilted with the circle lord baptist fan template.

Just a little bigger than lap sized.

Should be good for sitting in a wheel chair.

Now I'll wash to soften them up and get them wrapped.

I've been writing some posts on my helpful hints blog about the STUFF in my life.  If you don't see a post on here for a few days, check over there.  The link is on my side bar or here.  I'm starting my 2011 organizing a little early and talking about how my house accumulates so much. 

 

Here I am

A lot has happened the last few days.  I finished this quilt. 

I did stitch in the ditch around all the pieces of the pieced blocks.

Outlined the characters in the whole blocks.

Then I finished this one. 

I did a clam shell design in the center area.

I did a pretty feather design on the outside border.

Of course I had to do a little experimenting and guess who wanted to experiment too.  We were playing around with her crayons to draw on fabric.  No worry..... a swipe with an iron and it all disappeared.   I had hoped it would be permenant.  Duh!  Wax melts.  Oh well.  The fabric is still usable and we had fun experimenting.

My daughter is now in debt for the next 30 years.  She signed the papers on her house yesterday.  First thing she did was get me to go with her to pick out paint for the walls.  Why would she want to paint when all the paint is new?  As she puts it.... "I've lived with cream colored walls since I move out on my own 12 years ago.  I don't want to move into my own house and have cream color walls."    Today she's busy painting so it will be dry when she moves in this weekend.  The utilities have been turned on.  The phone and internet are to be connected tomorrow.  She found a garbage collection company.  Paid her neighborhood association dues.  She's lined up some guys to help with the moving and scheduled a rental truck.  Hmm.... I think she's ready to move this weekend.

You know what that means?  Yippie!  Next week I can spread out my own stuff.  I'll be able to find my creative stuff again.  Oh yes, speaking of being creative, I have great news.  I'm signed up for a drawing class.  Thank you to those who encouraged me not to give up!  You were right.  I just had to find the right teacher because I want to do more than print out a pattern from a computer.  What I'm hoping is that I can eventually combine my love of quilting and my love of drawing into some really great quilts.   

I need to figure out a "creative" schedule.  I plan to work on several different types of creative things.  Cardboard furniture, rug making, backward pieced quilts, machine quilting for customers, piecing memory quilts, and now the drawing class.   I'll have to find a balance in my time.  I have to go now.  I'm packing some of my daughter's stuff for her today. 

One more finished quilt. This one got the Circle Lord fan design on it.



A closer view.

The next quilt is one of those large ones that will take me two or three days to finish.

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Last evening, a few minutes after my daughter left here. she called me crying. I kept saying what's wrong, what's wrong and she wouldn't answer? She was also talking to someone there so she said she would call me back. Naturally, I'm thinking the worst. Thinking she's had an accident. For a good fifteen minutes I pace the floor wondering how bad it is. Is anyone hurt? Is her car drive able? What hospital are they going to? Can I get there? That sort of thing.

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When she finally calls me back she tells me she got pulled over by the police. It liked to scared her to death. She's only been pulled over once in her life and that was just after she first got her lisence when she was sixteen. Back then it was a case of racial profiling and the police were mistaken. If you've never been pulled over by the police for your race, had guns pointed at you, then you don't know how scary it is. She was traumatized for weeks afterwards.

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Last evening it was for expired tags. Whew.... what a relief! After fifteen minutes of thinking the worst it was nice to know it was only for expired car tags.

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Now what makes this story interesting is that my daughter had the opportunity to go get her tags last month but didn't. I had told her that she would regret not getting the tags on the day she had the opportunity. When she called me last evening she said all she could think about was my words from that day..... "Babygirl, you're going to regret not getting those tags."

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"Mom, why are you always right?" Hmmm.... maybe because I've been there and done that?

The next finished quilt. A quick one to give myself a breather from intricate quilting for a day. Now I have to finish the binding on this one and the two others that go with it before I can call the owner.



I used the Circle Lord fan template on it.

I have the next top on the machine. I worked a couple of hours on it this morning before getting on the computer. It's also going to be one of those 3 or 4 day quilts with lots of detail work. I believe I can cut that down to two days if I work longer hours. I'll see how it goes. The one I posted about yesterday is also one of a group of three. Customers often bring me multiple tops.

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I'll be headed out to vote about mid-morning. I'm waiting so that those who have to be at work on time can be the first in line. The voting place is right behind my house so it's not a very long walk. Thankfully today will be the end of the constant political phone calls.

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Working on the easy quilt yesterday worked out just right for me. My sister in law decided to come over for the day and work on her quilt tops. It's hard to concentrate on intricate quilting when she is here.

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Later.............

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It was a very busy weekend for me. My sister in law was here on Saturday for help with her quilts. In the afternoon my brother had a kidney stone episode and I drove him to the hospital. We sat there for several hours without him ever seeing a doctor. The stone finally passed and the pain went away so we left. Sunday my grandaughter was here so not much work got done.

Here is today's finished quilt. The last of the three I spy quilts for this customer.



I used the circle lord square dance on the center area. The customer's choice.

I did a loop design on the inside border and a flipping C star on the outside border.

I plan to work on a sampler quilt today. I'm hoping to get it finished but I also have some house work I really need to get done too.

I've started gathering thoughts and making some notes for a set of new machine quilting classes at the shop. There is a new quilting machine at the Happy Heart Quilt Shop! It's waiting to be put together. Somehow I've got to find time in my schedule to go help move things around and help set it up. I'm sooooo excited! Now I can actually do classes instead of just demonstrations. Oh the possibilites!

Not just how to load a top and stitch it with stippling either. I'm thinking of progressing classes. Starting with the basics and progressing from pantos to freehand and heirloom. Maybe some whole cloth classes and even some piecing on the quilting machine classes.

I'm also worried that I won't be able to fill up a class. The last class I had there was only one person. I couldn't really teach her anything without a machine but I did my best with paper and pencil. A new machine means I can show a technique and let the students give it a try. I'll be able to really teach. Who knows.... maybe I can even get the shop owner started machine quilting.

Why would I be willing to teach others how to machine quilt when I'm in the business of machine quilting? Despite my desire to live forever, it's not possible. Tomorrow is not promised to anyone. I want to pass along what I know before it's too late. Not everyone can afford to buy a quilting machine and not everyone will have room for one either. I'll still have customers to work for and pay my bills.

Ok, there's a storm about to pass through this area. I hear thunder and see lighting so I best get off the computer and start my workday.

I spy quilt

Ok, this one is finished and another one is on the machine ready to go. I used the circle lord swirls template for the center area.


A close up of the center area.


I don't know if you can see it but I did large bows and ribbons on the outside border. LE lace on the inside border.



I've been caulking around pipes before winter.


If you notice my posts have been very brief lately. That's because I've put my efforts into getting my house ready for winter and working on a couple of other projects instead of sitting at the computer type-talking. Getting a house winterized is not an easy thing when I work 10 to 12 hours each day in the studio and I must do everything myself. Each small thing accomplished gets me closer to completion though. Hopefully, this won't have to be done again for a few years.

Time to get my day started.....

Today's finished quilt. One of three I spy quilts a customer brought a few days ago.



The customer wanted simple panto work on it. I used the Circle Lord spiral template so my apprentice could learn how to do panto work.

I don't think you can see the quilting on the border because of the matching thread. I did a freehand flower and leaf meander design.

I stitched a swag design on the inside border.

After my apprentice left; I started loading the next quilt on the machine. I got the backing on and reached for the batting..... oops! No batting. My order hasn't come in yet. I checked to see if I had the ones needed for the next in line. Nope, not for those either. So, no quilting for customers can get done until it arrives. Now I'm kicking myself in the behind for not ordering sooner. The batting may arrive today or tomorrow. In the mean time I'm going to be working on the custom order quilts that are for Christmas. If I can get all the pieces cut and put into kits that's a head start on the work.

Hmmm..... I guess today is an in house retreat for me even if I didn't plan it that way.

This is today's finished quilt. A baby quilt.


Baby rattles on the border, le lace on the inside border.


Continuous curve on the pieced squares and simple outline of the embroidery squares.


Next on the machine was this one my SIL finished last Saturday. These were her color choices.


I did the Circle Lord waves on it so I could finish is quickly.


I also had to piece the back since we didn't finish it the other day. This is the back.


I took time to cut out pieces for my SIL's next quilt. It's easier and faster for me to just pick out the fabric from my stash and do the cutting than to try explaining the concept of "scrap" quilt or "color vs theme" to her. I do try explaining..... but it's not clicking yet. I'll keep explaining it until it does click.

My SIL baffles and confuses me! I've not quite figured her out yet in spite of knowing her for 41+ years. She's been married to my brother for 41 years.

A few years ago she would buy a few yards of fabric, bring it to me a couple of weeks before Christmas and ask me to create a quilt for her to give as a gift. I had to show her somehow that two weeks before Christmas was unrealistic for creating a quilt. Especially during the rush! So I started teaching her to make quilts for herself. Me creating a quilt as a gift was a gift from me, not her.

My SIL comes to my house once a week to work on her quilts. She's been coming over for about 5 years now and still shows little interest beyond what she is currently working on at the moment. This is what baffles and confuses me.

Most people when they become quilters will at least look at quilt books or magazines for new ideas. Especially when a new magazine arrives in the mail. For me, as soon as a new one arrives I can hardly wait to sit down and look through the magazine. I offer it to her to look through but she barely glances at it. Quilt books and magazines don't interest her. She only looks at books or magazines at my house when she plans to make another gift for someone in her family. She looks for quilt patterns that will best show off the theme fabrics rather than be a creatively pieced quilt. She has yet to buy the first magazine or book for herself or even ask me if she can borrow some of mine.

Most new quilters will have a fascination with fabrics. New quilters want to visit fabric stores to see all the pretty fabrics. She only visits a fabric store to look for a theme fabric to fit a specific person she wants to make a quilt for. Other fabrics don't interest her at all. She walks right past any that don't have the right theme. I've often given her the opportunity to take some of the donated fabrics given to me. She doesn't want any of it unless it happens to be the right theme and is yardage. Scraps are left untouched.

Most new quilters want to go to quilt shows to see what other quilters have created. I get very excited at the prospect of going to Paducah or Nashville or even visiting the fair just to see the quilts. She only goes to get away from home. It's the trip itself that holds her fascination not the prospect of seeing quilts.

So..... is she a quilter or only making quilts because I don't have the time to make her gifts for her? I do like my SIL and really like hanging around with her. I would just once like to see the sparkle in her eye at seeing a fantastic new quilt design instead of her only seeing the theme fabric. Just once I want to see her excited by a design and want to make one for herself instead of choosing a theme fabric and asking me how to make it into a quilt.

My studio is calling me....

Back to work

Here is today's finished quilt. It just barely fit onto my machine. As you can see, I folded one end to keep it on the table while taking the pictures.


I did freehand feathers in both the borders. LE lace on the inside small border.

And I did Circle Lord Baptist fan in the center pieced area.


Here is a close up of the freehand feathers. I couldn't get a picture of the back. The thread too closely matched the fabric and wouldn't show up.


I have another quilt loaded on the machine to start this morning. It may become a three day job. I will have to see how it goes.

I'm still making notes of organizing ideas to start in January. I spent a little time checking out organizing ideas (company sites) on the internet. Don't get me wrong, my budget won't allow me to purchase items in the hope they will help me organize. To the contrary, I visit these sites for ideas and inspiration. I'm a frugal living person. If there is a way for me to create an organizing item from 'found' objects that's what I will do.

I sincerely hope my blog will become a place of ideas and inspiration to anyone wanting to get their art, craft, or quilting life better organized. Time for me to go to work.

Attention or abuse?

Today's finished quilt. Done with the Circle Lord waves template.

A closer view.

View from the back.


It was a day for my sister in law to work on her quilt projects. That is one of her quilts.

I didn't get much sleep last night. My mother was in a panic which means the nursing home staff have to call me to calm her down. I received 6 phone calls through the night because she believed one of the residents had a gun and wanted to shoot her. I had a very hard time convincing her that no one would shoot her and that the staff was looking out for her.

When my mother gets into one of these panic attacks she has every conceivable answer to my objections rehearsed in her mind. I say something to calm her down and she immediately comes back with a counter answer. She spends hours and days rehearsing the scene out in her head before launching herself into a panic attack. After doing this type rehearsing for 60 years she can produce an attack at the drop of a pin. She is very sharp minded in how she comes up with these attacks.

I know what she is doing. I have been her victim my whole life. With a panic attack she knows the staff will be calling me to calm her down. When I get the calls; I then become one of the participants in her rehearsed panic attacks. I feel sorry for the staff at the nursing home. They must really have a hard time figuring her out when she does the panic attack thing. There is just enough truth in her words to make a person pause to think. When they pause to think she gets a sly grin on her face. She knows she is winning the mental battle with the person.

Is it mental abuse or just an attention getting ploy? A little of both. She got both by having an attack last night. How does one prevent her from doing this? A medication or a therapy? I haven't a clue. If I did know how to prevent the rehearsed attacks I would do it or pay for it without hesitation!!

Now that I've vented a little its time for me to try and produce a full day of work. I hope I don't fall asleep at the quilting machine.