Just brambling along...

What day is today? I lose track. Today I had to think about what we watched on tv last night to figure it out. When you are retired there are just a bunch of Saturdays and a Sunday - I love it! I've been working on the projects I told you about last week, and have made great progress. Here's where we stand.

Last week, a reader asked for pictures of my saddle stool. Here ya go. I ordered it online from www.bizchair.com. My feet and legs don't like to stand for extended periods, so without this wonderful stool, I'm limited in the amount of time I can stand at the longarm. On either side of the machine, I can sit comfortably for as long as I need to. I love my saddle chair.

Also, last week I showed you a sample block I’m using for the guild’s February Quilt of the month. Yesterday, I finished all 40 blocks for the quilt. They came together more quickly than I thought they would - at least after the first few blocks. It took a few to figured out the things that would make construction easier for me. My blog production assistant (my beloved DH) helped take pictures of the construction process. They will be included in the pattern, yet to be written and published. You can see the construction pictures by clicking Free Wheelin’ Block Construction.

The brambles in the studio last week are all under control. I'm sure my customer's brother-in-law, Allan, will be very happy with his handsome quilt! All that remains is for my customer to put the binding on. Here's how it turned out:
 

I can hardly wait to see what happens this week!
Now, let's get to quilting!

There are brambles in my studio!

Well, not real brambles. But, a new Bramble panotgraph.  A customer has made a lovely quilt for her brother. Guys. They are a tough bunch to quilt for. Of course, they don't want anything girly, and on top of that his visual is a quilt in a cabin. Of course my brain went to cabin in the woods, which led to underbrush and sticker bushes. In desperation I emailed Urban Elementz (online source of pantos) what she had available that might work. The first one on the list was Bramble! Perfect! So today I had the opportunity to set up a practice sandwich on Miss Margie and practice making brambles:

There I am on my beloved saddle stool. I can quilt for hours at a time without fatigue! My feet are very grateful to the company that makes it. I got mine from www.bizchair.com.

This week has also seen a lot of gnashing of teeth trying to figure out how to make a crazy 3-D bow tie block for the guild's February Quilt of the Month. Ignore the fabric - scraps, you know. Usually the block is made with 5 charm squares - 2 background squares, 2 bow tie squares and a square for the center of the bow tie.  Of course, I had to put my own twist on it and made 4, half-square triangle blocks to use instead of just the charm squares. Once I figured out how to put the thing together so that the resulting pinwheel went in the right direction, all was well. Now I'm waiting for fabric from www.missouriquiltco.com to get here so I can get started.

If you are not getting their Daily Deal email, ..., well, just sign up for it! You might just find a cute charm pack for $2.22, or a $40 layer cake for $27!

Now, lets get to quilting!