Saturday, September 26, 2015

Well, surprise! Surprise! I'm actually getting caught up on the blog!

I actually bit the bullet & used metallic thread on a quilt. I'd always thought it would have been one of my own first, but it wound up being a customer's quilt.  I was a little intimidated by metallic thread, but I believe in my Glide thread, so I took a deep breath & went for it!
  My customer is fairly new to quilting, but not sewing. She was an instructor for fashion sewing for many years, consequentially, she can definitely think outside of the box! Her ideas are incredible, but her execution needs quite a bit of work. I'm guiding her as we go along because I see some major awards in her future. Anyway, her quilt was poofy in spots, points didn't match closely, & of course, wavy borders. Not too bad on the borders though, she's improving.   
Here's some pics of how it finished up.
The light lines are actually silver bias tape sewn down. She also used a chiffon type lame cloth in the diamonds, which can be very stretchy. I did manage to get it to lay down, but it sure wasn't easy!


Thursday, September 24, 2015

Oh no! A months gone by...again! Well, I have been busy, with my oldest son & 2 of his kids coming for a visit, quilt shoes, & of course, quilting!
That's Johnny (16) on the left, Catherine (20) in the middle, & #1 son, Robert on the right.
Robert & I.



Saturday, August 22, 2015

Well, just playing around with some cloth the other day. I've always wanted to make a Cathedral Window quilt, so I tried my hand with a Mini! This one measures 11.5 inches square!
I think I'll put it into the Canton show this year. It'll be for sale. If it doesn't sell, I'll donate it to TAQC next year.

 

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Diamond Log Cabin won a ribbon! I got "Honorable Mention" in my category, which is a big deal at this show. I was up against some stiff competition!
My Grandson, Chance, went with me & ended up helping!
We had a great time at the show!


Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Well, which much a due, I present you....Diamond Log Cabin!
Here's a close up of the corners.
The quilting of the blocks can be seen here also.

Now to do the finishing touches, then off to the Plano Quilt show! Keeping my fingers crossed she comes home with a ribbon!



Thursday, July 30, 2015

Well, here's the smaller version of 54-40 or fight. I quilted it almost identically to it's larger version.
I did the outer border differently.

This one is already entered into a couple of shows. Let's see if it ribbons!


Monday, July 27, 2015

Well, as well as getting the trees burned, I did manage to get some quilting done.  Here's the quilt I did for Dianna.
Finally got my thread rack for Queenie built too. Floyd helped me with it.
This prompted me to do some re-arranging. Still have some to do, but I like how it's coming out!
Here's the sewing area, now complete with block design boards.
Cutting, ironing station & fabric stash. The new design wall goes all the way across the end of the building, 14 feet!
Longarm area. Much more organized.
Library, scrap bins & quilts in waiting to be quilted. Of course, there's my quilt Christmas tree. It stays up all year with all the ornaments handmade from quilters.

I just got the quilt off Queenie, so I'll show it to you soon!







Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Well, it was a busy 4th of July. We were supposed to have a big family reunion at our house, but we only had 2 of the kids home. Floyd's son, Sam, came in from Spokane, WA & Melissa came in from Longview, TX with her youngest son, Koal. I already had her oldest, Chance, as he'd been with me for a month. Keeping up with an 11 year old can sure get tiring!
Here's the only picture I got that day. Floyd &  Sam sharing pictures on their phones.
While Chance was with me, we tackled the pile of tree debris from the 3 trees that came down 2 years ago. We've been under a burn ban for so long that I couldn't burn them off. Finally, with all the rain we had this Spring, they lifted the burn ban & Chance & I got busy cleaning up the back yard.
The trees covered from the tree here on the right to almost the grey building (Floyd's shop). And from the trees to the fence. The white area that you see is actually burn area #2, with #3 behind it. #1 was to the right of the trees so I could burn out a small stump. I got it out too!
After nearly 6 weeks of burning, this is what's left. The 3 huge ones won't be burned, we're leaving them for seating around the campfire, but this will be our permanent burn area.
Now that it's all cleaned up, I can plant some grass in the bare areas & mow it when it gets going.



Monday, June 29, 2015

Well, busy little beaver here! With the rain finally stopping, the burn ban has been lifted, so have been tackling the wood pile & getting it burned. I've had the help of my Grandson on the yard work.

While browsing the flea market, I came across what I think was a microwave cart. It's all wood & on rollers. I brought it home & hubby cut me a piece of wood for the top & I proceeded to upholster it into an ironing table.
Then an idea hit me. It has a 2 1/2" lip on 3 sides of it. So, I stuck a couple of LED lights on the surface & put a piece of plexiglass on top. A light table!
Not bad for spending $25, huh?
I also finally was able to get the insulated foam boards & got them covered in flannel. I now have a 14' design wall!
Of course, this has prompted me to do some spring cleaning of the studio & re-arranging. I'll be back to quilting shortly!


Monday, June 1, 2015

Well, the rain has finally stopped here in Texas. The sun came out yesterday & the whole neighborhood was out & did yard work, including me!
But, I did get some quilting done beforehand.  I got the Double Wedding Ring wallhanging finished pieced & quilted. Now to get it trimmed & binding done.
Here's a closeup...........
This is my 1st attempt at a DWR. There's a couple of boo-boos, but I was able to hide them with the quilting.


Sunday, May 24, 2015

I know, no posts in awhile, but I have been busy! Dianna, a good friend & customer has kept me busy on Queenie.  Here's the latest.  This is called "Floating Fans". It's 108"X108" or 11,664 sq inches. Just a little thing!  It's a stack & whack. I did a medallion wreath with a single rose in the center & duplicated it in the 4 corners.  Did a simple curl on the ribbon border.
This is the background fill. I have no earthly idea how many pebbles are in this!
And a corner........
The center.........
It's on it's side, it's actually running up & down the quilt.

This took me 35 hours to quilt, 4 hours of marking & 1 hour for the misc. stuff. Even Dianna's hubby is thrilled will it! So am I!



Saturday, April 18, 2015

Well, finally got the center done on Diamond Log Cabin. Now on to the four corners & top & bottom.
Stay tuned for more!

Well, we're off to getting a new show quilt underway. I've  been wanting to make a Diamond Log Cabin quilt for some time, but couldn't find one to paper piece, so.....I came up with my own.

Stay tuned for more!

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Well, after @ 16 months, I finally have "Tropical Garden After Dark" done! The time frame is from inception to completion. She'll make her debut at the Gun Barrel Quilt show in Athens, TX April 24 &25th.
I kept the quilting pretty simple, stars & stipple, as to not take away from the quilt. See Mr. Moon? He's in the middle of it all.

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

I've been kind of busy lately. Here's a couple of quilts I did for my friend, Dianna. She's been emptying her UFO bins!
I've got a couple more of hers in house to quilt too.

Thursday, April 2, 2015

At the same time as doing the 54-40 or fight quilt, a long time friend, Ms Jan Hunter (the other half of Chaplain Joe), contacted me about making her a Breast Cancer quilt for her niece.  She really liked the one I made for Jojo's truck, but being as that was a custom one of a kind, I wouldn't make it again. So she decided on this one:
 I'd also been meaning to make this original pattern as a gift for them. She chose the colors.
She also offered to put one of the bears in their booth at MATS to promote me!
Thank you Ms. Jan for thinking of me!

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Well, the OOIDA truck got an unexpected mascot!  Here he is!
Isn't he cute!

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

To continue with updating....
Ya'll know I love to do PaintMeJudy's mystery train rides. Here's #7 in the series.
I decided to make 2 of #8. One is for our newest Grandson due at Easter, the other is being donated to the guild.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Here's some close ups of the quilting on 54-40 or Fight.
It took me almost 19 hours to quilt this, but it was a lot of fun doing it!

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Well, I've made myself a note to update the blog more often. So, here's the next in line.

Having been a truck driver for 20 years, the one organization I truly support is the Owner/Operator Independent Driver's Association (OOIDA for short). They have a truck that tours the USA, driven by a good friend of mine, Jon Osburn.
I made this quilt for it for when it's in truck shows.
It's called "54-40 or Fight".


Tuesday, March 17, 2015

It's time to do a much overdue update!
This is the Bonnie Hunter winter mystery "Grand Illusion". She loves scrappy, but I did it more of a controlled scrappy.
Tops done, but not quilted.

Then there's the truly scrappy Log Cabin. It's king sized to fit our new bed. Floyd wanted it extra warm, so he went shopping on Ebay & got us wool Army blankets for the batting. Boy is this heavy!
More to come!