Friday 13th - not so bad!

Busy day - Miss Moneypenny, Jeeves and I went to lunch with a bunch of friends, which was a welcome break. 

I ran 3 miles this morning, then wheezed and coughed all through the day - who says exercise is good for you?  I did feel better for running though, and despite the lingering cold, lot's got done.

The Hoffman Challenge quilt is getting there:

I quilted the lavender circles before adding the flowery ones - love that pattern!

Same sort of pattern on a much smaller scale for the baby circles - they get beads next - not much sleep tonight.

It's all too much for Bandit - needed a good nap! 

And this is the last pattern going in the quilt - it looks stunning.  When I get all the beading done I will put up a picture, but it's probably going to take the rest of the evening to pick out the beads - I love playing with shiny things!

So we also managed to spray baste the little quilt for the PQ3K testing - it's not loaded yet, but ready to go.  I am going to call the series of quilts for the frame PQ01 and so on.  I have a feeling that we will be at a fairly high PQ number before all the testing is done. 

Oh - just had a thought.  Maybe that wasn't the last pattern going in - just remembered the outside circle of the whole quilt - ok back to the machine, I'll catch you up tomorrow.  And that I hope is the final thought for today.....

Not as far behind as I was...

It turned out to be a very productive day.  The Hoffman Challenge is on Nora and some of the outlining work has been done.

The first four blocks of Simplicity Six have been made and written up in the pattern.

I grant you there are some gaping holes in this layout, but they will get filled in the next few days!  At least those four blocks made up ten blocks in the quilt - only eight more to go which equates to five more block designs.

We also managed to put together a small quilt to try out the PQ3K - the Janome 1625QC is set up on the frame and I tried it out yesterday on some waste fabric.  Total panic when I couln't get tension in the top thread!  I tried everything, changed the needle, changed the thread, fiddled with the tension settings, fiddled with the feed dogs, called Roz.

Roz came by to help, and the first question she asked was where was the pressure foot lever - duh!!!  Lower the pressure foot - it really helps.  Sorted - thanks Roz!

So this will be PQ3K's first project:

So tomorrow I'll sort out a back for it, spray base the whole thing together and get it loaded - watch this space for progress reports!

So since it is Thursday night it's time to do some paperwork, run payroll for the Boarding Kennel (did I mention that I own a Boarding Kennel?) and then it's hot tub time - yeah!!

So the final thought for the day is really just how lovely it is when you can see progress and lots of things getting done - not every day works that way, so when one does it brings a smile. 

When Tragedy Strikes.

A friend, dear to my heart, said today 'Please drive safely and hug your kids tonight' and she is very, very right, and I am so sorry for the tragedy that hit her family.  I would add to that 'Please everyone be careful and hug your loved ones every time you are going to be apart, whether for minutes, hours or days'. 

I am so thankful that the last words I spoke to my husband were 'I love you' because that leaves a better memory than any other words I may have said.

So - there is much sadness in our quilting family tonight and my heart is with my friend.  Somehow it makes me realize that all the seeming stress I thought I was under is not really important - I may be busy, but it's doing things I want to do, things that people like, but things that are not so important that family and friends don't come first.

So hug lots, love lots, be kind to everyone because you never know what deep sadness there may be in their lives.

So this is what is going on in the studio....

It's a little early to panic - there are still 10 days until the Hoffman Challenge is due, and still 4 days until the Simplcity Six class, so we will panic later in the week!

Here's a peek at the Hoffman Challenge - it's going to be called 'Karma Illusions the First'.  So guess what the next in the series will be called!

So it's draped over the ironing board and is actually still missing the challenge fabric - that will be added tomorrow!  I'll show you another picture then.

The quilt that is on Nora at the moment is due in a hurry (surprise!) and it's taking about 2 hours per row to do the outlining - it's going to look stunning, but probably not until later on Wednesday.

Simplicity Six is beginning to bloom and show me how it will look - I am really pleased with it.

Jeeves put up batting on the studio walls today to use as design walls - that gives us more spaces to lay out at least three more quilts.  Since the Karma Sensibility series will consist of at least six quilts I'm sure that the walls will be used.

So, since there is a lot of thunder rolling around outside, that's all my news for today.  Unfortunately that also means no hot tub - so it's a glass of wine and bed for me - Bandit is asleep already.  He used to be really scared of thunder, but apparently deafness leads to peace for him during a storm!

My thoughts today have revloved around my son's birthday yesterday.  The burning question is how a woman of my age has a 34 year old child?  I mean I am not nearly that old yet! 

Now to work....

July 4th week has come and gone and it was a fabulous week.  Of course not much got done, since Wednesday was a goof off day, Thursday was Ikea day, and the rest of the week and the weekend slid by and suddenly it's Monday - eek!

So - Simplicity Six to be written this week.  I teach class on the first 4 blocks on Saturday.  I have the four blocks made, just need to write up the patterns.  Then the Hoffman Challenge is due July 20th and is still a work in progress. 

The PQ3K is in the studio and waiting to be tested! 

I'll give you more information as the testing progresses, but early feelings are that this is going to be FANTASTIC!!  Watch this space.  More pictures as we load a quilt on the frame - any size quilt can be quilted on this system, but I think we'll start with a small one.

So onwards and upwards - Happy Monday everyone!

And one of my favorite thoughts:

It may be raining and you cannot make hay, but you can make sure that all your equipment is ready, so that when the sun shines you are ready to go! 

What a Wonderful Fourth of July!

I ran a 4 mile race at 7.42am and made the finish line.  I am not built for speed (more for comfort!) but I ran the whole race, came in at about 53 minutes (not last) and was then able to eat peach icecream at the Peach Festival in Gilbert.

Then home for a nap, wonderful party at my friend Roz's house, another nap and then watching fireworks in the hot tub.

So today I headed out to Charlotte NC to get the classroom furniture from Ikea - oh my, that is an amazing store!!  So I got it all home and hopefully Miss Moneypenny will help me put it all together tomorrow - I got two desks and two chairs together tonight, but there are two more desks and three more chairs to go. 

So tomorrow I have Miss Moneypenny to help and Jeeves will be here - Jeeves is my apprentice and she (yes Jeeves is a girl!) is here a few days a week to learn and help.  I must be the luckiest person in the world - I have a Miss Moneypenny to help run my life and a Jeeves to help with everything else.

So - it's time for bed - I hope everyone had a fabulous July 4th.

Final thoughts for today:

Brits really do not celebrate July 4th!

I love the July 4th celebrations - sunshine and joy.

It's time to start on the new series - look out for SENSIBLIITY - the new Karma collection - we are going to be working on your stash!

Oops - I got busy!

Miss Moneypenny gave me quite a scolding this morning, since I have not blogged since last Friday, and she needed a progress update.  Well, it was a busy weekend teaching Simplicity Five both Saturday and Sunday, and then there was construction work to do in the kitchen and hot tubbing to be done!

So anyway - here's how it's going....

Went to Pieces and Patches today to drop of quilts - a normal Tuesday morning activity.  There I met some travelling ladies who were around for a few days and just dropped in to hang around the quilt store - I hope they had a wonderful time.  I also met another lady from NC and we got into a lively discussion as to what isolated quilters would like to see on the internet - so I came home with a dozen ideas of things to add to the website and the blog and a ton of work for Miss Moneypenny and me to do - watch out for how to videos, free video classes and video Block of the Month (Week?).  I am so excited.

The prototype PQ3000 is in the studio and ready to be tested.  What in the world is a PQ3000 you ask?  Well in the next few weeks I will let you know all about it, but for now I'll just say that it is a frame that turns your DSM (Domestic Sewing Machine) into a baby long arm quilting system.  We are still making sure that we have addressed all the kinks, but it's going to be fabulous.

The Hoffman Challenge quilt is coming along - lots of circles to applique onto the background - 36 in total - 14 left to do. 

Since I am teaching Simplicity Six in less than two weeks, I have been working on the blocks for this exciting sampler quilt. 

So - it's time for a glass of wine in the hot tub (a plastic glass just in case!) and to mull over all the new ideas that are bursting to get out of my head.

HAPPY 4TH TO EVERYONE!  Have a happy and safe day - and enjoy the fireworks.

And the final thought for today is.....

Why did I sign up for a 4 mile race at 7.42am on July 4th!