The new patterns are coming along nicely....

Still can't tell you the special secret about these patterns but they are looking good as they go together!

Here's a sneak peek at one of the three - the block goes together with a mitre as opposed to a Y-seam.  I know how you all love those Y-seams!!  The mitre is similar but not as fiddly.

I am beginning to feel the blob after not being able to run due to the pinched nerve.  I think I'm about to get used to the idea of numb fingers and get back to running anyway.  Some clothes are getting tight and that will never do!!

Therefore, tonight I am going to draw up a new schedule to include running and some down time and since Spring is on the way - the groundhog said so - I will sign up for a race in a month's time. 

Tuesday Roz brought her 'Quilting 101' students to the studio for a field trip and I think they had a good time.  Jyl made a really ugly quilt - wineing the whole time! - with missed seams, bad 1/4" seams, fluffly borders, stretched borders and flip-flop ditches.  It was a bit extreme but I think we managed to show them some of the pitfalls to look out for while piecing a quilt.  And on the point about flip-flop ditches, these are created by bad pressing.  Some are flipped by the iron and can be pressed back again, but others are when one end of the seam gets stiched one way and the other gets stiched the opposite way when the next pieces are added.  This means that doing custom quilting and stitch in the ditch has problems.  The idea of stitch in the ditch is to stitch in the lower part of the seam and hide the stitching.  If the seam is wonky underneath the ditch changes sides and the stitching shows as it crosses over - not good.  There you go - I've finished for now, but do take care with pressing because it makes all the difference and done right gives you a lovely crisp looking quilt top.

Yesterday was another busy day with a T-Shirt class - all that was left to do as homework was attach the borders.  Then the engineer and I headed out to Charlotte NC for his daughter's wedding.  It was a lovely event - they actually held the ceremony in a pretty little park in Rock Hill SC (for legal reasons) and then everyone went to dinner in Charlotte.  We had a lovely Italian meal and the bride was looked radiant - as brides do!

We are getting very excited and a little stressed about New Jersey next week.  We are leaving on Wednesday and will not be back until late on Monday so there is a lot to sort out before then, and these patterns need to be written before we go - so to the computer to type up patterns!  Maybe before we go I will be able to break the secret about the new patterns.

It's been a while.....

The problem with the pinched nerve has caused havoc in my life - typing really hurts the muscles in my arm and quilting is very uncomfortable.  But it seems to be improving a little and although my fingers are still numb I've got much more done in the last few days.

We gave Bandit a doggy treat on his birthday.  He is now officially 14 years old and despite the scare a few weeks ago he seems to have rallied and is doing well. 

 

This amazing Cathederal Window came into the studio last week.  It needs to be completed and the whole thing is hand sewn!  There isn't much left to do so I'll put up a picture of the completed spread when it is done.  The Cathederal Window is considered a quilt but is not actually a quilt as per the definition since there is no batting.

The Crown Royal commission quilt was completed and went to its new home with a very happy owner.  Pictures will follow once she has handed it out as a gift.  It was a lot of fun to do so I'm sure it will be enjoyed.

We went to the One Stop Shop Hop in Lancaster SC, and would you believe it SNOWED on the way up there!  Maybe that kept people away, but we saw a number of people we knew as well as some PQ3000 owners so we had fun anyway.

So - the focus now is the New Jersey show.  This is a huge show and four days long and we have been working on an idea for something to take along with us as well as the PQ3000s.  Well, we have come up with the idea and once it has been turned into a couple of working examples I'll put up pictures - it's fun!!

For now I need to get on with some stuff - it's going to be a frantic few days before we leave for New Jersey - but I will do my best to be a better blogger.  And I am trying to carry out my father's saying, "you may not be able to make hay due to the rain, but you can make sure that when the sun does shine you are ready to go".  So I may be having trouble doing some things but I can get stuff ready to do when I am able again.