Welcome to Gramma's Quilting Room.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Hey Sonya, Look At This!!!


The "5 Year Old" quilt is off the frame waiting for someone to make some binding. We are so funny with our names of quilts. Sonya was involved in a pastel and white 9 patch swap and in a heart block swap. She combined the blocks to make this quilt for a friend's 5 year old daughter, making this the "5 Year Old" quilt. When she first told me about it, I thought it was a top that she had done for 5 years. I mean, geez, that wouldn't be uncommon for me. I think I have a few of those.

This is the quilt that made me almost be a bald woman. First I tried using a batik for the back. The fabric is beautiful, my machine hated! it. So after a row and a half, I picked it all out. We decided that flannel would be more snuggley anyhow and that was the right decision. This quilt is definetly snuggley.

This is the first time I used Jodi Beamish's pantograph Plumage and I can't wait to use it on something else. But first I am going to load another quilt with a fun name but I can't talk about that until after Christmas, just in case.

Yesterday's post where I worship the ground Bev walks on should have included a link to her website. So I will include it here. It is called Dancing Threads Custom Quilting and when you visit, you will see her dancing threads. And a picture of Bev. She looks like the sweetest lady and talking to her yesterday proofs to me that she is. Again, Thank You Bev for taking the time to calm me down and tell me to loosen my tension. I think she meant on the machine and in my shoulders. :-)

After the mystery quilt is finished, I am going to take some time and work on my stack of quilts. I know that sounds kind of selfish but I am starting to feel a little guilty about not finishing my own things. That will last until I get the sweet little whiney voice that says "I need this quilt done 3 days ago!" and Oh, OK!
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Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Life Lesson # Oh I Don't Know!

Two life lessons in one day is a fine way to spend the day. Especially if I start thinking I'm all Miss Smarty McFarty! Well, guess what?!? I'm not, I'm just a McFarty.

I'm all full of myself because I can quilt a ways, then I run out of bobbin thread, have to change that and write a boast post. Big mistake. When I went back to quilting, my thread is breaking, I can't figure out why, I'm ready to start drinking! I don't drink!

So more adjust, try, adjust, cry. Then I decide I need to talk to someone. First I will check my Nolting Yahoo group to maybe find the solution and there right in front of my face is Bev's phone number. I decided to give her a call. Whenever anyone has a problem and they post to the list, Bev usually knows what they are talking about and she can solve the problem.

I am so frustrated that I need to talk so I called her. Bev, you are the sweetest thing. And smart! Oh my goodness. She calmed me down, talked to me, made me laugh and solved my problem. With just a little adjustment to the top tension, I am now finished with this quilt.

Whoo Hoo, It's a great day. Now I will go grocery shopping. Now that should be fun!

Another Life Lesson Learned

Don't you love life lessons??? Usually not at the time I'm learning them! Then after the lesson, I want to bonk myself between the eyes like the V-8 commercial because the solution to my problems is generally simple. Maybe I should have had a V-8!

My life lessons are usually DUH moments. Like my longarm frustrations of yesterday. I have timed that machine numerous times. I know how. But why do I torture myself instead of taking a break and going back to it when I've calmed down.

This morning, I started over. I took the thread off, the bobbin out, timed the machine like I know I can, put the bobbin in, threaded the machine, then run a test swatch. Well I'll be! That baby is stitching like a dream. I wonder if my little prince came in here last night waving his magic prince wand!!!

OK, break is over. I have work to do.

Monday, November 26, 2007

There's a Whole Lot of Activity Around Here

We have some changes going on around at Gramma's house. Here is Mr Mike helping Grampa put up the extention to the shop. I can now park my car out of the weather. I still have to walk through the rain to get to it but at least when I open the car door, my seat won't get wet.

The whole family, except Vern's boys, was here on Thanksgiving Day. Jenny and her family left before dinner but everyone else had a pretty darn good feast. The men deep fried a turkey and the girls got to fix everything else. I don't know about anyone else but I missed the traditional roasted turkey. I love the smells and the gravy drippings. We even bought the pumpkin pies. They were good and I'm happy to buy them again from Costco.

Then on Friday the crew started putting the new roof on the house. Oh boy, talk about loud! There were times I thought someone fell through and would land on the kitchen floor! Thank goodness that didn't happen and now we have a fabulous new roof and probably will never ever have to do that job again!

So today, Grampa went back to work, all our company is gone and the house is quiet. I kind of enjoyed it for a while this morning then this afternoon it was too quiet.

Then the most frustrating thing happened! I filled bobbins this morning, made a back for a quilt, loaded it on the frame and started quilting. It's looking so nice and then!!!!!!!!! The thread wrapped around the bobbin case, the needle shattered into a kabillion pieces and I have to fix my machine. I don't even know what happened.

So I have spent the last several hours trying not to run out screaming. I have retimed, retimed again, changed needles, bobbins, thread and my attitude. Nothing has worked. I think I'm close then go back to the quilt and take ten stitches and the top thread breaks. I break out the video, watch it, pause, retime, try, watch, pause, watch, pause. It isn't working. I took all the parts off that I could to check them for burrs and haven't found any. I might have to check again. But tonight I am done. I can't think any more.

Tomorrow morning I am taking the video out to the fancy disc player where I can pause and zoom in and see exactly what I need to see. If that doesn't work, I am making a phone call to Nolting and see if they can point me in the right direction. I wonder if they will point me to a new machine!! Just kidding!

Tonight, I am going to do nothing but dream sweet dreams. If I wake up in the middle of the night with some hair brained idea, I'll just get up, write it down then go back to bed and back to sleep.

Yeah, right!
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Friday, November 09, 2007

I've Been Busy


Here ya go Mike, you can laugh at poor Uggie aka Bucket Head. He is pretty funny looking. He's trying his best to get the bucket off his head but it's there to stay for a few more days. The vet said he's like a person with a bug bite, he started to scratch, made it itch more and went balistic. His hinnie and tail was chewed up pretty bad so he has a shaved butt that's all scabby but healing nicely. Better get out here or you are gonna miss it.

He goes out side and tries to flick the bucket off his head. I have to hold his food and water dishes because he flicks those and makes a mess.

Here's the quilt I'm working on right now. I'm practicing some flames and other freehand work and working with some of my rulers. I love the stitch in the ditch ruler. It didn't take me too long to get used to working with it. This quilt will go onto the charity quilt pile. After it's finished, I have a humongous quilt to work on. Then just a couple more and I am going to spend the rest of my quilting time getting my pile down so I can build it back up again.

I've been on a free standing lace snowflake marathon. I wasn't going to do an ornament exchange but my friends talked me into it. I now have to stock up on more white thread but I have all my snowflakes made and a few extras. It's fun to multi task--embroidery machine and longarm going at the same time and listening to both.

The snowman quilt is quilted, binding is on and ready to be stitched down. This picture is just to tease my friend. Sorry Sugar, I know I am mean!!!

I think tonight is movie night, I haven't looked to see what is on. I'm going to make a simple dinner cuz I really don't want to cook. I think tomorrow will be a stew and cornbread day so I can spend most of the day working on the larger than life car quilt.

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Monday, November 05, 2007

I Never Thought I'd Say It, But...

...I'm retreated out! We had 26 women in our sewing room. That's a lot of energy in a space I never thought of as small. I sat with Crystal and we both got a lot accomplished. When it started to get loud and crazy, we both got out our MP3 players and on went the headphones. You get lots done when the music is right.

I made one more block of the month, started on the second one and realized I had cut my pieces the wrong size. Then I got out my diamond string quilt from last weekend and finished sewing sashing on the blocks and then sewed them into a quilt top. Pictures when it's quilted. I then got out my strings and started working on Bonnie's latest string quilt free pattern at Quiltville.

So now I have to get down to business. Today I set my Designer 1 to embroidery mode and started making some free standing lace snowflakes for an ornament swap. Then I got out the serger and pieced a back for a quilt, cut the batting, loaded it on the frame and it's almost finished. I am hoping to finish it tonight but I'm starting to poop out. I sure hope I have the back for the next quilt on Thursday evening. (That's a hint!) If not, I'll just have to load on one of mine.

I had to take Uggie to the vet. He decided to chew the hair off his back and tail. Poor baby, the doctor says it's partly anxiety--he missed his mommy--and party because hyper dogs forget to stop scratching their itches. I'll pick him up tomorrow and I'm sure he'll have a bucket on his head. That will have to be a blogger photo. Even if it is only to give one person a little chuckle.