Red, white and blue!

Sue B is a dedicated QOV'er.  The quilt above was started by someone else who, apparently, got tired of trying to do the curved piecing.  Sue is undaunted by that sort of thing and finished it herself.  It's made up of many, many red, white and blue batiks, and is VERY busy, both in the patterns in the batiks and in the pattern of the quilt.

Now, when either the fabric or the design of the quilt is so busy that any quilting designs would be lost, what do you do? You do a pantograph that complements the quilt.  Since this quilt had lots and lots of curves, I chose a wild and wonky star surrounded by billowing cloud-like echoes.  Even on the back, which is also batiks, you can't see the design well except for the borders:

Some young soldier is going to love the intricacy of this quilt, and I hope it warms his/her heart to know that people like Sue still care.  There are other organizations who work to bring aid and comfort to our wounded troops, so check with your local organizations to see how you can help.

Also, check out my new blog:  http://www.lakeside-quilting.blogspot.com/ for some neat tools and tips!

The times, they are a-changin'...

I have been bogged down in doing the taxes, or at least in collecting and collating the data, for the last week or so.  I hate doing taxes.  I'm a real procrastinator when it comes to stuff like that.  That's probably why it took me this long to finally get it together enough to hand in to the accountant.  Yes, accountant.  Anyone in business should invest in an accountant, unless, of course, you're an accountant your own "ain't-I-the-cat's-pajamas" self.  But for the rest of us who lack your skills, it's a real headache to try to figure out all the fancy stuff you need to know and keep track of for business taxes.  Ugh.

Meanwhile, we had a little run of bad luck in that the work slowdown at the body shop where DH was just recently employed caused him to be laid off.  This is very scary for a man of 60 who has never NOT worked a day in his life since he was 16.  But he was the last hired, so he's the first one out the door, alas.  He's out pounding the streets looking for a job, and to take up the slack, I am expanding my quilting studio hours to permit me to be able to take on new customers.

AND, because Longarm Diva, although meant tongue-in-cheek, is nonetheless somewhat negative in connotation, I am changing my blog site to http://www.lakeside-quilting.blogspot.com/ .  I'm working on the site now and hope to have it fully prepared for publication in a few days more.  I'll put a notice up on this blog to let you all know when I cross over to the new blog.

Back at the ranch, the D9P Outreach quilts are still coming in.  The latest one by one of our guild members is this pretty little thing, below:

She quilted it simply but beautifully, and I'm sure one of the Madeline's House denizens will enjoy it tremendously.

I like this pattern so much that I am making a king size quilt for myself.  Here's a peek at my progress so far.  These panels and sashings are not connected yet, so don't worry about not matching the cornerstones for now.  Imagine it turned 90 degrees, because that's the way it will eventually lie on the bed.

 

I have to touch my sewing machine at least once a day in order to feel that the world is in the right place.  Not just a quick tip-of-the-finger touch, but an hours-long, lower-the-needle, pedal-to-the-medal symphony of machine, mounds of fabric, and me.

The mundane world awaits, alas....