Will this work??????

It is 8:24 AM and I have already been up for hours, my kid should be downtown by now having dropped her at the GO station for the 7:36 train. Amazing how kids CANNOT get up for school, but can be awake at the drop of a hat for a photo shoot!!!!!    Just glad I didn't have to drive her downtown.  DH is still away and I would love to just PLAY, BUT no - I am swamped with work and so my nose is to the grindstone to try and meet all the deadlines.

Oh yes - big help from M last night because she made pizza for dinner. I must say that she makes a pretty good pizza - with chicken and all kinds of veggies. Very healthy!!!!!   Thanks M for making dinner while I was working.


Yesterday I got rid of two quilts, quilted two quilts and took in FOUR quilts and two to be basted. Somehow that math is NOT working for me. The number of quilts I am working on should be decreasing - NOT increasing!!!!!    Bottom line - unless someone pays me a LOT of money, I am not taking any more quilts to be done before I leave (unless it is already on the schedule). Anything coming in now has to wait until September. Sorry - that is just life!!!!   And I want to have one (a life that is) so no more quilts - for a while. Trust me - the number I would like to have quilted before I leave is big - not all HAVE to be done, but I would like to get them all done.

Quilt number ONE

Quilt number TWO 

AHA - this is NOT the same quilt.

Here they are together. Both are trimmed and I have to put the binding on one. 

Was going to put that binding on last night, but decided that I had a couple more urgent items to take care of. Including listening to the last CD of that book. Oh good grief - right to the end it was sappy and well - I am NEVER making the mistake of taking out one of her romance (or anyone else's) romance novels. Give me a good thriller any day.

I did get another block traced for the embroidery and started to work on it. Oh yes - this is coming together nicely and working on the pieced blocks as well. I will try to get everything laid out to show you in a couple of days, but laying it out for a picture is NOT my priority. You see - I am going away next weekend to a quilting retreat and so some things JUST have to be done PRE retreat. And that is what I am focusing on.


There are two quilt shows coming up which is what is complicating my life. I have THREE more quilts (two are mine) that are due for the first show, a customer quilt that has to be done and then ONE more quilt for the second show. Let's just say that I am working to rule right now!!!  No time for messing around.

One of my quilts that needs to be done is going to be a challenge. You remember my hand quilted blocks that I put together. Well I wanted to put a border on it. I got the first set of borders on a while back, but before I can quilt it - I need to put the other set on as well. It is hard to take a picture of this so bear with me while I explain it to you. I have a quilt with the center quilted. Then I added the border and the border backing to each side of the quilt. That was easy - I sandwiched the quilted quilt top between the border and the border backing and stitched. EASY EASY.

The issue was how to put the top and bottom border on. Because the center part is quilted, but the outer edges are the empty border and border backing. Does that make sense?????   Anyway I decided that Y seams was the way to go.

So I sandwiched the quilted quilt between the top border and the border backing. I stitched from one end of the quilt to the other. Then I took the quilt out of the machine and sewed the top border to the side border and then the side border backing to the top border backing. Repeat for the bottom.

Here is the Y seam to add the top border

Then I pressed it. I got it partially loaded on the long arm last night.  That is my job this morning  - to try and get the borders quilted. I am a bit at a lost as to what to quilt in that border - it is HUGE. Piano keys???? A chevron????    And let's not forget that I have to insert the batting before I quilt it. Oh boy - I LOVE a challenge. 

Here is the other side of the partially loaded quilt. There is NO batting under that border - YET. 

 Oh and to keep with the scheme of the quilt - the batting HAS to be polyester. ICK ICK ICK.



Well good thing problem solving is one of my strong points. I think I just might pull this off and will anyone be the wiser how it was done?????   I won't tell if you won't.

Since I have to get the binding on this quilt and the due date is April 19, I am sneaking it in front of a couple of customers. (I'll be taking it to the retreat to bind at night) Don't worry - I might be helping the customers bind and there is a logical rationale for that so don't think I am short changing the customers!!!!!


Have any of you seen this cute little sewing machine????

LEGO sewing machine

This little sewing machine is made from LEGO. It is very cute. Actually if you do a GOOGLE search on IMAGES for LEGO sewing machine - there are MANY versions that come up. Have a look. Ronda's husband spent a LOT of time yesterday (on his day off) searching through his (ooops - I mean his son's) LEGO collection and this is what he came up with.

Don't you love it!!!!!!!!!!! Look at all those spools of thread, the ELEGANT handle and that SONAR control panel is perfect!!!!!!

Side view

However I think he was going to look at what it would cost to get the pieces for the one above. Anyone interested????   It is so darn cute!!!!!!!!!!!!   I guess that is what happens when you have girls - no LEGO. I love LEGO. I think Berke needs MORE LEGO - then I can borrow the pieces that I want. I know he has some of these pieces in the car I got him at Christmas.


On that note - I am out of here to try and figure out how to get this quilt done.


Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Ciao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!