What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

We are still in the process of remodeling....Hubs finished his bathroom and mine is gutted.  Tile is laid and grouted.  Putting the tile around my tub is next.  Our house hasn't been updated since it was built in the 70s.  EVERY house we have lived in - we have remodeled.  It seems like we just get them finished and we have had to move.  *sigh*  Between job transfers, Pops getting sick, etc. there has always been something.  This little farm is supposed to be our retirement home.  We started with the outside because that was important to us.  Through ...

I spent Saturday longarming in the shop.  Truth be told, I couldn't wait to get the quilt that was on the allover machine done so that I could put my Vacation Houses quilt on there.  I had an allover in mind.  I had been eyeing this allover for a while waiting for the 'right' quilt to put it on.  Finally I finished the beast of a quilt, got the customer invoice done and was ready to load my little quilt on there.  I just didn't want it to end up in the UFO pile for you to read ...

 With all this crazy weather, we can all dream about vacations right?  We can dream about sitting on the beach with our toes in the sand watching the tide come up just far enough to tickle our feet, then rushing back from whence it came.  We can dream about the smell of suntan lotion or the rays of the sun kissing our skin just enough to give us a golden glow.  We can dream about that drink in our hand with the little umbrella floating off to the side - I'm thinking sweet tea with lemon.  We can dream....

I ...

Today's pics aren't my best work - I'll just start off with that disclaimer.  Earlier this week I was on a Zoom call and saw our rural mail lady try to turn around in the neighbor's driveway.  She got stuck.  Totally distracted from my call, I watched as she kept revving the engine in her little jeep and burning the rubber off her tires trying to get out.  My call ended and I threw on a coat and boots.  In an effort to get there quicker, I started out across the yard rather than using the driveway ...

You will want to read all the way through to the end, so you can see our **SALE**. 

I'm pretty sure our delivery people don't like delivering to us.  We had an 'incident' where the FedEx driver left a box of fabric out at the end of our 150 ft driveway (where we put our trash, I might add) and for the first time ever, Hubs called in.  The local social media site, coincidentally, had a rash of other deliveries that the same thing had happened to.  Whether it was everyone being keyboard warriors or thinking there was ...

It's in the 70s and 80s in Australia right now.  Our low tonight is 4 degrees.  I should really focus on what the weather will be there when we are having our summer, but it's hard when the air bites your face.  The ice hangs from the barns and the high tunnel looks more like a snow tunnel.  I reflect on the Spring flowers blowing in the breeze while I started seeds last year.  Patience grasshopper....

I quilted another Koala quilt.  Can you smell the eucalyptus?  

Here's a random question....what is your favorite mammal?  I love hippos.  I know they are ruthless.  Here are some unneeded facts about hippos:  A hippo can open it's mouth wide enough to fit a 4' child.  Hippos sweat their own sunblock.  When hippos are upset, their sweat turns red.  Hippos can't swim or float.  (They actually walk around.)  Hippos closest living relatives are whales and porpoises.  See, not only is my blog goofy, but it is educational!  LOL  

I have a grandson who loves whales.  When I saw this quilt...well, you know what happened.

I remember in the 70s when owls were so popular.  Mustard and avocado green (even that orange - remember??) graced kitchens all around the country.  I think one of my aunts had canisters, cookie jars, trivets and towels all with owls on them.  I think I even remember another aunt who did macrame and made everyone an owl wallhanging.  Everything comes full circle, so they say.  Now owls are all the rage again.

So, I wasn't surprised when these owls showed up in the shop mail.

When I first started longarming, I wondered if I would get bored with it.  Would it start to feel like a job in a factory?  As I watched quilts come to life with each stitch, I just knew it wouldn't happen.  I remember how excited I was when I hit the 1000 mark - yes, that's 1000 customer quilts.  I've been longarming for customers for 18 years.  Guess what??  I'm STILL not bored!  Each and every quilt offers a learning opportunity as well as the excitement of bringing them to life.  When I bought the second machine ...

When April Cornell came out with the Poetry line of fabric, it was love at first sight!  What I wouldn't do to have some of those ticking fabrics right now.  Here's a little secret - ticking fabric is a weakness for me.  Look at this pic and you can see the 'feel' of the line.  (stolen from Google)

We made this as the lighter version of ...

 It's always exciting when new fabric comes in.  The biggest disappointment is if there are backorders.  Unfortunately, this load is about half what was ordered.  Traditionally, solids have been used in Hawaiian quilts, Amish quilts and 30s reproduction quilts.  Now we are seeing a huge trend of solids in Modern quilts.  I'll be honest, I haven't used a lot of solids.  I can count on one hand how many quilts I have made with just solids.  Here are a few examples of highly popular patterns:

When I was doing the sewing room clean-up and getting rid of the totes, I found this is in the tote of UFOs.  It looked done.  But when I pulled it out, there it was - all it needed was two more borders!  Seemed easy enough....I pulled it out and added the final two borders.  I was all caught up on customer quilts, so out to the shop it went to get quilted.

I had hoped today's post would be a pic of my new fabric.  But, alas, the usually fast shipping has not happened.  Rather than skip posting, I thought I would give you a little 'tip'.

I have been talking with a friend online this morning.  With the world being so topsy-turvy and times being uncertain, sometimes you just need to take a step back.  There are theories about this and that.  We have a new President.  We are in the midst of a pandemic with new strains coming out every month.  We are adapting to teaching/learning/working from ...

We had our guild meeting last night via zoom.  I sat there - just staring at the screen.  The presenter did a great job.  But, I sat there staring.  I've been to more than my share of zoom meetings, microsoft team meetings, etc.  I've even virtually baked cookies!  Is this what we have become?  I think I am getting old.  *sigh*  I used to say that social media has turned our younger generation into a generation that will lose it's warmth.  I've been concerned that they will not know how to handle face-to-face conflict or interaction.  In ...

... but *TOOT TOOT*!  Remember the soap I told you I was formulating for Hubs?  I named the base recipe "Generation X".  He was complaining about dry skin, especially his hairy little legs, after showering.  He was even developing a little dry patch in the small of his back.  I had put a little too much fragrance oil in it so the batch seized a little, but it was still good.  We cut into it this weekend and started using it Saturday.  OMG!  What a difference!  I have always slathered myself with lotion to keep my skin hydrated...pretty much for ...

What does being a diva mean to you?  Are you a diva?  Before you answer that, here is one of the dictionary definitions of a diva:

a self-important person who is temperamental and difficult to please (typically used of a woman).

That is just flat out rude.  LOL  Now, I know I am not a diva! 

I remember when the Quilt Diva craze started.  There was fabric.  There were patterns.  It was worse than the Red Hat Ladies!  Of course we had to make up a quilt with one of the patterns.  We did the Amy Bradley one, which was ...

I have blogged before about quilts I have made over the years - some of them I love, some, well, not so much.  As a shop owner, you are tasked with making samples.  Samples of new patterns, samples of new fabric lines and samples for classes are all necessary to help customers envision what the fabric/pattern would look like.  Not everyone has the same taste as you, so you have to stretch yourself.  Sometimes you end up liking something way out of your comfort zone, so I never really minded much.

When I made this Christmas Ribbons quilt, I absolutely ...

Prodigal Son, Army Son and their families went to Florida to see Princess Daughter.  While they were gone, we kept Prodigal Son's puppy, Copper.  We had forgotten what it was like to have a sweet, time-sucking puppy around.  He was such a snuggler.  They came to pick him up last night and we were discussing their trip.  I asked how Puddin Pop did on the plane (she's flown before) and Army Son's wife told me the cutest story.  They hit some pretty rough turbulence on their flight to Chicago.  She had a white-knuckle grip on Prodigal Son ...

Every year I pick my 'word for the year'.  A lot of people participate in this.  As a wise pastor has said, "you will move in the direction of your focus".  Think about it - if you are driving down the road and start to look at something in your peripheral, all of a sudden you are driving toward it.

My word for 2020 was Embrace.  I wanted to focus on embracing the circumstances and people surrounding me rather than hoping for something else.  Given the current atmosphere, you can only guess how hard that could have been.  Surprisingly, it wasn ...