Nitpicking

I spent 4 hours this morning in front of my new long arm quilt machine. Her name is Maxine and I will tell you more about her in my next post. Yesterday I was quilting my very first quilt on Maxine and having a great time of it when I happened to notice that the first part was looking great but when I made the bobbin change for reasons that I can not explain or comprehend the tension was way off causing these pretty cool looking but totally wrong stitches on the back of the quilt. Not knowing anything to be wrong I used up that whole bobbin and put a third one it. This one also ran off perfectly.

I have just spent 6 hours removing all those pretty cool looking but totally wrong stitches from this quilt. Hubby thought this was excessive to say the least. He could not understand why I would take all these stitches out. My explanation was "because they are wrong." If I am spending time and effort to do something special for someone why would I go to all the efforts only to settle for something lesser when it is within my powers to do it properly?

I have to thank my Girl Scout leader Baby Janes once again for being such a good role model and for insisting that we do things the right way because the wrong way is just wrong. Who would have ever thought that those rather unimpressive lessons taught to teenage girls would be such a strong force in adulthood?

Maybe this is nitpicking a bit but this is my very first quilt- if I let myself slide on this one what will I let slide on the next one?  Who knows, that next one might just be for you and then that attitude of "ok, I know this is wrong but no one else will" could be there for God and you to see. I strive to give my very best, even when it is only mediocre at least I can proudly say I did my best. I am thinking I should save all this beautiful thread for my birds- they could make an awesome nest out of my mistake. How that for giving my best!

Technorati Tags: quilting

Still Taking It One Stitch at a Time

My life is now measured out in fat quarters and inches and yards of fabric. Not everyone will be interested in the quest for bigger and better quilts. Just know that I am, and that this is all a learning process that I must carry out. Quilting brings me a creative release, gives me permission to touch all the fabrics as I have been want to do for many years, allows me to lock myself away for hours on end and be unavailable, and play with color and texture. It also torments me at times, always challenges me, pushes me to my edge and often over and now days has become my calendar. My list on the white board is getting smaller only to be added to again and again. While most of my quilts are either graduation or wedding gifts this year, the Lord still prods me to do the compassion quilts that got me started. Those are the quilts that are made for people who somehow just need a great big hug and a reminder that God knows and is holding them in the palm of His hand.

I managed to get a quilt top done for Jenn's boyfriend just before he graduated. The design is all Jenn's. I am so proud of her design that we have entered this quilt in a local quilt show. Now I definately have to finish it soon. The excuse for not having it done is that Nick is getting a new bed and we don't know the size yet. Underline the word excuse- I just had to move on to other things for a while. It will get finished Nick- I promise.

This quilt was finished the day of the wedding and Jenn and I were able to present it to Nikki, the bride and her hubby, Tim. They were overwhelmed. My good friend Lynn did the longarm quilting on it for me- it was a first for her on her new machine also. All in all, we did some awesome work here.



Now I must get back to my sister's quilt and get it into king sizeness. It has also been entered in the upcoming quilt show.

Jenn was looking at Nikki's quilt laying on my bed and suggested that perhaps the time had come for me to slow up on the making of the gift quilts just long enough to make a quilt for my bed. My quilt is an old store bought one that is in very sad shape. I don't even love it enough right now to stitch up the tears in it. Let me check with my whiteboard- hmmmm maybe I can get to that in 2008 if no one else decides that they need to get married or start having kids- I still have these two tops to finish for the quilt show, a special challenge quilt I must make in Sept. for that show for my guild, 2 more wedding quilts and I must stay open to the Lord who often throws one in to see if I am paying attention.

Sewing at the Speed of ... at any speed.

I returned home from Missouri last Thursday and have not really been feeling quite myself since. Finally went in to see the Dr. today. He told me the good news is that the things I am having problems with I left last week and with some help from some detoxing supplements I should be back to my normal state soon. I did go in and do the Lyme testing this morning just to be on the safe side there. I also told him that I have been off my thyroid meds for almost 2 months and feeling good. He did some muscle testing and then some more because those meds have been my life's blood for 24 years. He agrees with me that at this point it is looking like all that crazy laser treatment stuff to rid me of all the toxins has had the added benefit of allowing my thyroid to come back to work on its own- Yippee!!!! Did a blood work up on that this morning too just to have written proof. So with any luck my body will flush out the formaldehyde I have picked up at Moms house and I will be up to speed soon.

I spent the last morning I was at Mom's house frantically sewing. We had a melt down of the featherweight one day and actually got it fixed and back in service the following day. It reached a point where I knew I was not going to be able to finish my sisters quilt top but Mom so wanted me to finish that I had to get what I could done on that last day. It went from this:

to this:

then I brought it all home and I must have the top all pieced together so that I can take pictures and get them postmarked Saturday to be entered in the local quilt show in Oct. You have to admit that my Mom is one fine looking lady after surviving all she has and to be sitting there mothering the two of us on only 13 % of her heart left alive.

Saturday we went to my Step-grandaughter's high school graduation party where I presented her with this quilt:

I did actually take the time to quilt this one but neglected to get a picture of it finished.

I am also frantically trying to finish up a quilt for a wedding I will be attending this Friday night. We decided that the pattern made up too small a quilt and had to go on a fabric safari for a workable solution to that fact that I had purchased all the fabrics at my favorite shop in Idaho and didn't have enough left to make the additions we need to make-I would grrrr here but it just means that I must get more creative and find a new way to solve my problem. Fortunately I had Jenn with me, she was my driver today as I was in no shape mentally or physically for driving more then 1 mile from home today. We had very little to pick from but we believe that it will work out well- Photos to follow on that one later this week.

King Size Continuation

Day 2 Mom has taken upon herself to be the offical whip cracker. If I start to get distracted she leads me back to the work at hand. Today is cutting 2 inch strips- lots of them.

Lots and lots of them really. They are cut and then they are sewed together lengthwise. And then silly me, they are cut again. My mom is having a hard time keeping up with the cutting again part of this project. But honestly why does anyone take perfectly good fabric, cut it into pieces, sew it together only to cut it and sew it again???

Day 3 All the strip cuts have been made and the sewing together continues.


Day 4 All the piece of this quilt are now assembled and ready for the the big tada to happen tomorrow. I will be laying all these piles out on the floor and creating a king sized quilt there- then I will be picking up the pieces hopefully in a organized fashion and sewing them into carefully designed rows. By the end of the day I am hoping to go TADA it is finished. Maybe a bit optimistic but my Mom is so anxious to see this quilt done.

I Can Now Spell Paducah!

I can now say that I have been to Paducah Kentucky for the American Quilt Society quilt show. And let me say Wow, does that town know how to make a quilter feel welcome! Most quilt shows take over a convention center and all the local hotels but this show takes over the whole town.

Paducah runs a trolley service all throughout the day up till 10 PM and they have a sign that says they will stop anywhere. My girlfriend Lynn and I took them at their word and we had them stop at a local pub, away from the throngs of quilters one evening so that we could have burgers and a drink and not hear all about the show.

One of 42 murals on the flood wall in Paducah

Ends up that we picked a great place- Fat Moes. They even had live music- I would tell you that it was pretty good but I was drinking Capt. Morgans and most things sound better after a couple of those so who knows. We were going to call for the trolley to deliver us back to where we were parked but by the time we left we figured we needed a long walk instead- did I mention I was drinking Capt Morgans???

We were blessed to stay with a couple who live in Paducah and were just married 8 months ago. We hear that Betty is older then John and he told us he is 70. Lynn knows Betty's son. We were overwhelmed with the southern hospitality. John made sure we had a big breakfast each morning so we would have lots of energy for the day. I think he figured we would help the economy of the town- and we did! He was sure excited to find out that I eat grits- and I even eat them them properly- with butter, salt and pepper. John and Betty can fresh things from their garden and so John sent us home with jars of tomato juice and relish. He then informed us that he will need his jars back and so we must return them same time next year. It just might be a date.

Lynn and her choice for a long arm machine

I came home from Paducah with piles of fabric and a new determination to keep pushing myself to get better. My friend came home with a new A1 long arm quilt machine. These things are huge, so in truth she only came home with the receipt- the machine will be delivered in about a month. I would be jealous but she has already invited me to be present for all the lessons and she will let me use it. Lynn is a very good friend indeed! I still want my own though. They are just way too much fun to use.

I was into brights this trip

This week will be spent working on two graduation quilts, and then I can turn to the 3 wedding quilts on my list. I have some other quilts waiting to get on the waiting list. And now I have about 450 new photos of quilts that can give me inspiration. It was a great week.

I was wishing these coal barges had my name on them.

They do not allow you to post your photos of the show quilts so you got local scenary. If you click on the pictures they are the get bigger kind- honest!

Technorati : AQS, Paducah, Quilt show, Quilting

2 down and a whole list to go

Graduation quilt for our friend and other son Danny who by the way is horribly allergic to cats!

Wedding quilt for other daughter Tammy and her hubby Jeremy- they were married in Feb. so I am not too far behind. I just need to add the label and it is outta here.

This means I only have 2 more graduation quilts (these are mostly cut out and started) and 3 wedding quilts scheduled for the rest of this year. I must admit that I have yet to make a quilt for me- sad, but I have the pattern picked out and have started gathering the fabrics!!!! Now to find the time.

I could complain about the amount of quilts I need to make but I have been so richly blessed with the role of the other Mother. Most of my for real daughter Jenn's friends have adopted me and visa versa. I am one lucky Mom- remind me of this when I am running behind and wishing the quilts were done. Kinda makes you wish you were on the list huh??? Maybe next year? Be blessed today.

Ok so doing a double take of these pictures I have just realized why it might take me longer then some to complete a quilt. I might just have a few too many helpers? And of course they all want their own attention.