Today is Thursday

There were some comments left about the picture yesterday of Tucker, my 8 month old Yorkie.  Here is a short video of him with Indy, 4 year Australian Shepherd.

 

Above Tucker is tucked in by Harry.  I know the quality of the picture is not great, but Tucker is laying by Harry's elbow chewing on a bone.  Tucker does not have the heavy under coat the Aussie's have so he snuggles up to play with them and keep warm 

 

Yesterday I spent the day with my husband. (The picture is from a recent wedding we attended on October 31st. ) It was one of the few days he has off work until the end of January.  Most of his days off will be spent resting or sleeping.  We were able to return some purchases at the mall and buy a few gifts.  Just spending the day together is precious.  After the shopping was done, we stopped off for a late lunch at Arthur's Garden Deli and then headed home. 

 

There was no quilting happening at our house on Wednesday but today I am back in the studio trying to make a dent in projects.  Hope you are making progress on your on projects.

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry

 

Tuesday Tips-Free pattern links

I like to share links to free block of the month patterns.  I have been doing the free scrappy block of the month patterns with Country Threads (who are now retired) and handed their block program over to Farm Chick Quilts.

Farm Chick Quilts.

http://farmchickquilts.com/news/september-online-block-of-the-month-and-ufo/

http://farmchickquilts.com/news/october-online-block-of-the-month-and-ufo/

http://farmchickquilts.com/news/november-online-block-of-the-month-and-ufo/

http://farmchickquilts.com/news/december-online-block-of-the-month-and-ufo/

Next week she will be posting a picture of the quilt and the finishing instructions.

If you need to find other links for this quilt use one of the above links to get to her website.  Go to archives on the lower right side of her page,  click on the month you need.  Then go below the archives and click on the 1st of the month on the calendar.  That should take you to a page on the website where you can click on the block of the month pattern.

I also have posted links to http://quiltdoodledesigns.blogspot.com/p/bom-2015.html, I have lost track of this one as I can't keep up with the applique.  She has just started a link for her 2016 project.

http://quiltdoodledesigns.blogspot.com/p/bom-2016.html

It is a row quilt with a Christmas theme and I really like the picture she has posted. 

Last Friday, Bonnie Hunter, www.quiltville.com, started her yearly mystery quilt which runs from Black Friday until the first of the year.  She releases the fabric requirements a few weeks before the clues begin and then on Black Friday morning you can count on finding the first clue on her blog, http://quiltville.blogspot.com/p/allietare-mystery.html.  The thing I like about Bonnie's quilt is almost anyone can follow along as she gives step by step pictures and tutorials.  Her quilts are scrap quilts so you can go shopping in your stash and then fill in by going shopping.  Every Monday she has a linky party where many quilters post their work-in-progress pictures.  This gives motivation and ideas.  Don't get discouraged if you can't keep up with the super quilters, just print off or save the instructions and do a little of each step.  Finish the quilt at your own pace.  Remember its not a speed event but about enjoying the journey!

Today is starting out as a great day.  The sun is shining bright, the dishes are done, vacuuming done, and the blog is written.  Off to the shower and then headed to the studio to quilt!  What are you working on today?

Have a terrific Tuesday! Today I am linking up with Connie at Freemotion by the River.

Yours in quilting,

Terry

Hello Everyone! and my Design Wall

I know that its been too long since my last post, October 8, 2015, actually.  I would like to be Super Woman, but its just not possible.  So I have not blogged but have been taking care of my family first.

My husband made a major career change on October 5th.  My job has been to take over absolutely everything I can handle so he can study, go to class and learn his new job.  I have to say I am so impressed with him.  He really put his whole heart and soul into his training and he loves his job.  It is fun to hear him tell people we meet how happy he is at the new job.  The new company values their workers and encourages comradery.  They also believe in paying a living wage, benefits, and safety training.  For all this, I am very thankful for his new career.  It has changed our lives for the better!

 

This weekend, my dad and step-mother came back to Princeton.  On Saturday my sister and I hosted an birthday open house for my dad's 80th birthday.  It was fun to reminisce with guests and all their stories.  On Sunday, we celebrated Dad and Pat's 12th wedding anniversary with pizza and a game of dominoes.  I am proud to say I won! 

 

This morning I drove out to the hotel and visited with Dad and Pat while they ate breakfast.  I was able to buy and wrap their Christmas presents.  I delivered the Christmas gifts to the hotel so that they can take them home.  We will probably not see them again until Spring.  We live about four hours apart. 

 

This is what is on my design wall.  It will be a Quilt of Valor when finished.

 

Now its time to buckle down and finish customer's Christmas quilts.  This is what is on my longarm being custom quilted. 

 

 

Have a great Monday!  Today I am linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times.

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry

 

 

One of My Many Loves

I have been an animal lover as long as I can remember along with most of my family.  My husband and I have a soft spot for herding dogs, i.e. German Shepherds, Shelties, Australian Shepherds.
Four years ago, we rescued a Yorkie named Rascal.  We had our name on a waiting list for another Australian Shepherd, but it didn't look like we would ever reach the top of the list with the breeder so we rescued Rascal.  Within two weeks of Rascal's arrival the phone rings with the offer of a Blue Merle Aussie, male, and six weeks old.  We took the puppy and raised him, trained him and sent him out of the show circuit.  He is one major point short of a champion.  His name is Indy!

I have been working with Indy over the summer on agility training.  He is not a hot weather dog, so now that fall is upon us, Indy has perked up.  He enjoys our morning training sessions and is excited from the time we leave the house until we get started in the training field.  Tuesday, we had the opportunity to try competing on video.  We successfully completed our first attempt.  Below is the link to the YouTube that I submitted NADAC.

(Harry, on the left and Indy on the right)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb3azaOVSZo&feature=youtu.be

We will be competing at our first trial on Friday, October 16th.

I know this is not quilting related but my animals are part of our family.  So many quilters have pets so I thought I would share my success.

Yours in quilting,
Terry

Monday Design Wall

Oh my gosh!  I just checked my pictures from the blog design page and my pictures are showing up again.  Oh, Wanda, if you fixed this for me this weekend, I am forever grateful!  I am doing the happy dance.  Yeah!  Hopefully, things will stay fixed for a long time.

I was at a sewing weekend with some awesome ladies and Wanda is retired business skills teacher.
She looked my phone over and didn't know what or if she could help without my laptop computer.  Wouldn't you know it was one of the times I didn't take my laptop with me but this morning I can view and choose pictures for the blog.  Whoopee!

This is Wanda, who is looking at her first quilt which has just been quilted.

Below is Carol Onken, the longarm quilter talking about Wanda's quilt. Many of us gave Wanda advise on how to trim her quilt and how to add the binding.  She went home ready to do the handwork on the binding.

 

Hugs and prayers to Wanda today.  It was one year ago that her husband passed away.  I hope today you can smile at the many memories you two made together.

 

Betty brought some fun show n' tell.  Betty emptied a suitcase of charity quilts.  Notice below the fun way Betty uses panels by cutting them up and adding them to strip sets or by applique.

Betty come out from behind your quilt! 

I am sorry to say, I did not get pictures of all the quilts Betty finished and donated.  They were all adorable.

 

Below is Susan, our hostess, showing Carol Onken's button fabric quilt.  This was a block trade our group completed back in 2011.  Many us are still working on our layouts and sewing the tops.  The white blocks with the X in them were the additional blocks Carol added to make the quilt queen size. 

 

Below is Betty rendition of the quilt. 

 

No sewing day is complete without a food celebration.  Yum! 

Never a bad cook in the bunch and we usually come home with new recipes.

This weekend was no exceptions, I have three new recipes.

 

Kathy was learning how to use her new sewing machine while making this batik beauty.

 

Linda whipped up this batik quilt along with a baby quilt. 

 

Melanie was the UFO Master!  She finished this king size quilt and another quilt called "Twiggy" for her camper's bed. 

 

Sylvia worked on this Doug Leko quilt. 

 

Thank you to Susan and all the ladies for a fun, productive weekend.

 

Today I am linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times.

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry

 

Design Wall Monday

HELLO! Followers!

Oh my gosh, what a mess this has been getting my ability to post pictures to my blog.  A blog is not very exciting without pictures or drawings.  I have spent more hours than I want to count, trying to figure out the problem(s).  Today I spent an hour and a half at the Verizon store and I can currently find my pictures and add them to the blog.  The question will be "is the problem solved, will I be able continue to be able to find the pictures and have the ability to post them on Blogger"?

Above, I have posted my Farm Girl Vintage blocks.  I have chosen to make the 12 1/2" blocks because I like big quilts.  I am making the quilt on the front of the Farm Girl Vintage book by Lori Holt (www.beeinmybonnet.blogspot.com).  The top row from left to right are:  Baking Day Block, Butter Churn Block, Autumn Star Block, Chicken Foot Block, and Churn Dash Block.  Second Row;  Baby Chick Block, Apron Strings Block, and Canning Season Block.  I have a few more blocks cut out and ready to sew.  I am headed to some sewing days this weekend and hope to sew more of these blocks.

Have a great Monday.  Today I will be linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times.

Yours in quilting,
Terry

Basics on Wednesday

Today I will be traveling to Susan's Calico Creations in Fulton, IL to teach Beginning Basic Machine Quilting on your domestic machine.  We practice sandwiching, marking, stitch in the ditch, and the basic free motion quilting.  We will talk about quilting that enhances the quilt and I bring samples of quilts I have done.  I also bring a big laminated sheet that students can practice stippling or other free motion quilting before trying it on their machines. 

Yesterday was a very busy day.  It was time to pay the real estate taxes, do some banking, and delivered six quilts to the fair.  Then I came home and turned on the longarm determined not to let learning the new software get me down today.  Tadah!  I did it.  I completed three rows of stitching on my own.  I also ran out of bobbin thread, loaded a new bobbin and got the machine started on pattern again without calling for assistance.

I would like to send out a big "Thank YOU!" to Elaine Gilmore, National Educator with Handi Quilter for all your support, phone calls, and printed tutorial.  She reached out to me at my darkest moment in trying to learn the new software update by Handi Quilter.  I am excited that I will be headed to Naperville, IL, to take lessons with Elaine this Friday.  I know this will open many creative possibilities for me.  I am impatient with my learning curve on the Pro Stitcher, I want to know it all now and don't like struggling.  I am a hands-on learner and taking my tablet with the simulator on it will be a great advantage.  The simulator mode is a new part of the software and will make learning much easier.

My lesson learned on the Handi Quilter software rollout, is don't procrastinate learning each update in a reasonable amount of the time.  I put off updating three updates and then this major update came out June 15th.  I am working to learn four updates at once. I have no one to blame but myself, I will persevere and continue to strive to be a better longarm quilter for my enjoyment and my customers' quilts.

Also, I chose a difficult pattern to line up, that made the learning process more difficult.  I am thankful that today things started to make sense.

 

Have a great Wednesday and thank you, Elaine!

 

Yours in quilting,

Terry