Blue and Yellow Quilt

Love the colors in this quilt. I'm partial to blues with yellows!

This pretty top is QUILTED with Swirls & Curls Meander (freehand)

Time marches through this bi-polar autumn we're having. Today we're supposed to be in the 50's & then plummet into the 20's for tomorrow's high temperature. See, Mother Nature is feeling a little moody!

How are you all faring with holiday preparations? Are you started yet? Dreading it or looking forward to it?

I'm so excited for the Christmas season. I'm thankful this year I should have the long weekend off after Thanksgiving (still keeping my fingers crossed on this one), so that I can jump start the Christmas preparations with a little decorating, a little baking, and a little shopping.  

Beach & Dinosaur Kids Quilts

A beach scene QUILTED with Seafoam Meander (freehand)

Dinosaur Top QUILTED with Single Loops Meander (freehand)

We had our first snow here in Lancaster, PA, this afternoon :) I'm not going to even try to pretend to be irritated by it. Yeah, it made me cold & spotted up my glasses, but the white fluffy stuff just makes me so freaking HAPPY! 

Rainbow Colors Quilt

This was QUILTED with a simple Meander (frreehand.) While the quilting isn't something to get too excited about, I think the colors are stunning.

I'm missing a quilt guild meeting tonight. The quilt machine was down for almost 3 weeks while I waited for the appointment with the technician to come, and thankfully he was able to fix 'er right up! However, this has left me with a hefty backlog, and the semi-custom I had on the schedule today didn't get finished when I thought it would. Sigh... 

I'm done for the night now and am getting ready for Law & Order followed by American Horror Story!

Brown bubbles

I'm such a bad, neglectful blogger! I can't even remember how long ago this quilt was finished!! One of these days I'll get on a schedule & stick to it :)

Is this a Churn Dash block? This fun quilt was QUILTED with a Simple Bubble Meander (freehand)

I'm utterly gleeful that autumn is upon us. It's truly my favorite time of the year (with Christmas time almost a neck-in-neck tie.) We did a little apple picking & carved pumpkins this week. All that's needed now is a first fire roaring... but I think we'll be needing some wood for that. 

Scrappy Wonky Blocks Quilt

Our A/C cannot keep up with the heat & humidity today, and the irony is that I hear from my BFF she's just seen her first Christmas advertisement for specials! lol 

Garden Meander Quilt

A simple Meander stitch done freehand on this Garden Quilt:

Braid in a Day Quilt in Gray, Green, and Blue

Have I mentioned how popular this particular quilt pattern has been this Spring? Perhaps it's due partially to the class Stitch & Craft had on this technique?

The top was QUILTED with a Butterfly Meander (freehand)

Have the "dog days" of summer hit your neck of the woods? We've had some decent summer weather, but I've managed to make it out to the pool only a couple times & I've been in the water just once. The days I've had a little time to run out there have been cloudly/rainy, and on the hot days I seem to be working like crazy or running errands.

In other news, my beastly dog, Smokey, has been put on "rest" for 6 MONTHS. The vet suspects a partially torn ACL... whoever heard of such a thing in a dog?? Leave it to mine... leave it to my dog who loves to take our daily walks (some of you may remember over the years my descriptions of how "over eager" he's been to walk me... err I mean, walk WITH me), who loves to jump enthusiastically into the pool, doing so over & over for 30 or more minutes at a time, who loves to follow me up & down & up & down the stairs as I run hither & yon doing mountains of laundry & cleaning up this old house... to curb his activity seems so mean, but then watching him hobble knowing he hurts isn't fun either. Sigh... 6 months is a long time

Purple Geometric Quilt

Unfortunately I don't know the name of this pattern either. Please forgive me! Many of my quilts are dropped off at one of two quilt shops, so I don't always get to ask information directly. 

No matter, the colors are fun!

This geometric top was QUILTED with Puffy Heart Meander (freehand.) 

I missed most of the sweltering hotness of today working at Stitch & Craft in Manheim. When I got out of work at 5pm, it was warm on the skin but not suffocating like I was expecting. And NOT suffocating on the way home from work is a good thing :)

Ribbons & Bows Quilts

Both quilts are QUILTED with Ribbons & Bows Meander (freehand) 

I feel like I'm finally getting back on track after our spring marathon of birthdays & holiday celebrations. Days are more "normal", I'm getting some sewing done besides quilting & homeschooling, and I'm not completely exhausted ALL the time :) 

Now if I could just wrap up the end of this homeschool year, I'll feel like I can "reset"!

Meander Quilts

A couple client quilts with Puzzle Piece Meander (freehand) on them:

Circles Quilt

I've been terribly remiss in posting lately! These quilts are still from before my Paducah trip. I just cannot seem to get caught up from being gone that week! Throw into the mix my hubby's b-day & a daughter celebrating her 22nd b-day, and my head is left spinning! 

So here goes... I loved quilting this top. This is Cindy's first throw-size top after having completed a table topper. I was working in the shop as she put it together, and relished watching her gain confidence. WALA! And curves so early on... impressive... most impressive :)

Cindy's Top is QUILTED with a Rose Meander (freehand)

Happy Mother's Day to all who'll be celebrating tomorrow. I cannot imagine not having been a mom, and I'm continuously thankful for the privilege. 

Wedding - Memory Quilt

An eclectic Wedding/Memory Top; QUILTED with Puzzle Piece Meander (freehand)

I woke up feeling alright, but all week I've been dragging by about noon. You ever feel like you're burning the candle at both ends? Yeah that's me... for about the last 20 years. lol 

So even though this quilt loaded fine & went quickly, it also felt like it was taking forever! When in reality one of the blessings/curses of working from home most days is that while I'm home I can do other things too. So after quilting a couple rows I might quickly do a household chore, switch laundry loads, spend some time gabbing with one of my gang, etc. Doing it this way, a quilt that would take about 3 hours to quilt can span the entire day. I don't quilt all the time like this, but since today was a long quilting day (no working outside the home, no running errands, and no homeschooling) I guess I felt like I could get away with it. It all gets done in the end, but I'm starting to wonder if I just shouldn't get the quilting done, like BAM, and then go onto other chores or other quilts even. 

I might start probing other quilters to see how they work best... the "BAM method" or the "sprawling all day" method. 

In other news, we here in Lancaster, PA, are gearing up for another wintery weather week...

Lighted Christmas Tree Quilt

Ideally I would've had this done last month, but well... you know how it goes, right? It was QUILTED for Christmas, but I didn't have time to bind it or make the little battery pack holder for the back in time to actually hang it for Christmas. 

QUILTED with Snowflake Swirl Meander (freehand) 

It's just a panel but I actually quilted something for me :)

I'll have to figure out someway to make it drape flatter. The quilt itself lies flat but all the wires & lightbulbs behind it are distorting the drape.  I thought about hand-tacking the wires on the back, but the dang lightbulbs are about 1.25" long which makes them awkward for tacking down. If anyone has a suggestion, I'd love to hear it! 

T-shirt Quilt

T-shirt Top; QUILTED with Puzzle Piece Meander (freehand)

Not much to say at the moment... am tired from the week, not feeling well, and woke with a headache that is leaving me feeling hung over. On the plus side, the daily quilt is done, I don't have to cook dinner tonight, and tomorrow is my Slow Sunday!

Harry Potter Quilt

Harry Potter Top; QUILTED Semi-Custom (hair/coat detail; individual block design; and swirls, curls & flames for the rest of the body)

I was scheduled to work in the quilt shop today but was given a snow day! (There's that giddiness again!) Instead I worked at home on a client quilt & did the usual household/mom stuff one does when one is home... even while one is still trying to get actual, paying, work done... I didn't even venture out to shovel the car out. There's always tomorrow (said by a true procrastinator!)

Stack & Whack Quilt

This beautiful Stack & Whack top was made by Maureen at Stitch & Craft. I quilted it with the Leafy Swirl Meander (freehand)

Stack & Whack is one of the techniques I've admired for years but have yet to try. One of these days when I have more free time ;-) 

Grouchy Ladybug Quilt

Grouchy Ladybug Top; QUILTED with Meander Bubble (freehand)

I'm thankful for this lull in the quilting schedule that comes immediately after the fall/holiday season. It gives me a little time to recover from the break-neck speed of entertaining, pulling off back to back holiday celebrations; it gives us some time to pack away Christmas & get back into our homeschool groove; and it also gives me a little space to recover emotionally. While I can readily admit I found much joy in the Christmas season this year, I'll also admit the celebrations took their toll on the fragile balance I hold on my emotions regarding my grief process. I know many of you understand this delicate balance of creating joy for our families while also experiencing our own personal sadness but not wanting to burden our loved ones with this. I'm thankful for the truest friends with whom a woman could be blessed. Without them, my girls, my hubby, and my parents, the holidays could not have been filled with so much happiness <3

T-shirt Memory & Mickey Mouse Quilts

T-shirt memory quilt top; QUILTED with a large meander (freehand)

Mickey Mouse top; QUILTED with Single Reverse Loop (freehand)

These were pretty small finishes for yesterday, and truthfully I'd been hoping to get at least one more small quilt done. However my neck strain was acting up & so I spent a lot of time heating it with my home-made rice bag! (getting older is a pain in the neck~ heehee)

Butterfly Bed Runner & Stitchery Challenge 6, 7, & 8

Butterfly Bed Runner Top; QUILTED with Large Meander ~ Freehand

Day #6: Swirling Wind

Day #7: Coral Stitch

Day #8: Stork Scissors

I hear-tell that Old Man Winter will be blowing his frigid breath down our necks again tonight, bringing in some freezing rain. I sure wish he'd do this on a day or two when I had nowhere to go! 

Stay warm & safe!