Category: quilting

quilting · wild rose quilter

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

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I had this adorable, cheerful client quilt under my needle to brighten the cloudy, cold, wet day we had.

We were supposed to get 4″ or more of snow overnight and into the afternoon, but we ended up with only a dusting.

I spent the rest of my quilting time today working on more star blocks for the commissioned quilt I’m making. I’m keeping my little grandsons the rest of the week. I didn’t have them today, however I did have lunch with them, my son and hubby. So, I had some “son-shine” in my day, as well. 😍

quilting · quilts · wild rose quilter

Good Day

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Today was just a good day. I had my two youngest grandsons and they were a blast today. A client dropped off a quilt for me to longarm quilt for her. And, I got a nice squishy in the mail from Missouri Star Quilt Company. In addition to the two lovely quilt backs I bought, they threw in two extra goodies for free! A sweet little pattern and cute pin set. Gotta love that! Thank you, MSQC!

Yesterday I didn’t have my littles and got quite a bit more work done on the commissioned memorial quilt I’m making for a recently widowed client. I laid a few blocks out on the floor to see how they look mixed together.

There will be 49 blocks altogether. These blocks are made from several of his shirts and even some swimming trunks he wore on their vacation trips to Mexico. I hope it brings her much comfort when it’s finished. I purchased the pattern several years ago from Quiltin’ Tia Quiltworks called Gracie’s Star. I’ve really enjoyed this pattern. This is one of my own quilts and the first one I made using this pattern. I love this quilt. ❤️

And, this is a cute cowboy themed baby quilt I made with it.

Have good night and a fantastic Friday tomorrow! Thanks for visiting me.

Frozen to Melting
nature · quilting

Frozen to Melting

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The day dawned dreary and frozen here.

Noon-time has brought sunshine breaking through and the ice is releasing its hold on the captives it has encased in its frosty, glistening coating. Some is simply dripping away, and from time to time I hear large chunks crash onto the patio out back. It’s pretty to look at, but treacherous for travel so I’m glad it isn’t sticking around long.

It is a good day to get some sewing done!

Wrapping Up this Thursday
food · quilting

Wrapping Up this Thursday

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As this day has wound down to a close, I’m sitting by the bedroom fireplace listening to little sleet balls ping against the windows. It’s supposed to do that all night. I’m glad I don’t have anywhere I have to go in the morning.

I did pretty good at getting most of my to do list tackled today. I did my paperwork that needed tended. I focused on cutting out more pieces for the commissioned quilt instead of sewing. The cutting seems to be moving rather slowly as I’m not using fat quarters I can stack and cut multiple block sets from at once. Using clothing makes that part quite a bit more tedious. At least it does for me. Some of the fabrics are a bit fussy to work with, also. I’m anxious to see how it comes together. It has such a varied array of patterns, colors and fabrics, but each item has special meaning to my client.


I did make my first chicken fried venison steaks with some back strap meat from the doe my husband harvested. This was a first for us both as it was his first deer. I was pleasantly surprised that it turned out quite tasty.

I used my Pampered Chef meat tenderizer on it before soaking in it milk for about 4 hours before frying. It was also my first time using it as it’s a recent purchase. I was very pleased with it. It made quick work of getting the steaks prepped. I had them all done and soaking in less than 15 minutes. I have no affiliation with Pampered Chef, but I do have and use several of their products.

I always lose some of the crispy coating when I cook chicken fried steaks and I don’t know why. If you have any tips for keeping it stuck, I’d love to hear them.

Late Start to a Busy Day
quilting

Late Start to a Busy Day

Wild Rose Quilter4 Comments

Today and tomorrow are my son’s days off so I’m not keeping my two littles and have my days filled with my own activities. However, I really overslept this morning. On the to do list is a workout, paperwork for our oilfield business, some stitching on a commissioned quilt for a client, and cooking up some venison. I’m new to that last one. My husband harvested his first ever deer on my family farmland, which I inherited a share of when my mom passed. I’ll share more on that as we go along here. It’s one of my favorite places on Earth. Today, the plan is to try chicken frying some back-strap. Check back later to see how this all ends up and how many things I actually get checked off my list. But first, I have a breakfast date with my hubby. Oh, and there’s a massage appointment scheduled in the afternoon for me, also. I have a feeling I’m not going to get everything accomplished that I wanted. That’s just a typical day for me though, lol.

In the meantime, enjoy this beautiful client quilt I got to do the longarm quilting on recently. One of my favorites from last year. Thanks again to Ruth Ann for trusting me with this treasure! This is all freehand and ruler work.

Orange
quilting

Orange

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I loved this orange and white Irish Chain client quilt that I had the pleasure of quilting recently. My client asked me to keep the quilting simple. I decided an orange peel design would be perfect. Sometimes less is more and simple can be stunning. I was very pleased with the end result. I usually use a ruler to quilt continuous curve, but I had gotten my Intelliquilter installed right before this one came up for its turn on the machine. So, I programmed in the quilting path row by row and watched the IQ do its thing. It was fun and exciting to see it turn out.

 

 

It’s such a bright, uplifting quilt. One I hated to see go back out the door. I really need to make an Irish Chain for myself someday.
I’ll sign off with this beautiful sunset with a streak of more beautiful orange. Goodnight all.

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A New Favorite Treat

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Wow, the wind is blowing like a hundred miles an hour here today. Ok, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it is bad y’all. Our area is in a wind and fire advisory. When the wind is this bad it always makes me feel a bit unsettled. I have my two youngest grandsons with me today til their parents get off from work. They have been busy bees today, but right now we are having a bit of calm while they watch a few cartoons. That gives me a chance to snuggle up and get cozy under my chicken quilt with one of my small humans,

and enjoy sipping from a big tumbler full of a yummy high caffeine black coconut tea I bought at the Old Barrel Tea Company in Ruidoso, NM when we traveled there for a holiday getaway right after Christmas.

I’m glad they ship because I’m going to want more of this when I run out. I also got a nice decaf one called Mountain Sunrise that I’ve been enjoying hot in the evenings. It has a nice, light citrus flavor. I need to try it over ice, also. What are some of your favorite teas?

quilting

Sunday Stitching

Wild Rose Quilter4 Comments

Wow! It’s been awhile since I did a Sunday Stitching post. But, I’m trying to get back in the blogging habit and I did some stitching today, so here we go. My Mister wanted to squeeze in one more day hunting before deer season closes on the 15th, so I had the house to myself. I did quite a bit of multitasking. After over a decade of longarm quilting, I finally took the plunge and added an Intelliquilter computerized system to my A1 quilting machine. I am loving being able to stitch out an edge to edge while doing piecing work on another project at the same time. I used a panto called Toys from It’s a Quilt Thing to quilt this cute client baby quilt.  It stitched out so nicely. My client brought me a denim quilt back with this one. That was a first for me and I was a bit concerned about having tension or thread breaking issues. Not one bit of trouble! My trusty A1 handled it just fine.

While the IQ was working away for me, I worked on piecing some more floating star blocks for a commissioned memorial quilt I’m making for a sweet lady that was recently widowed. Having lost a spouse myself, I know what this means to her. It’s going to be very scrappy looking, with a mix of fabrics from his shirts, a pair of shorts, and even some swim trunks. I am praying it all pulls together nicely in the end. This is such a special project.

I knew it was time to call it a day when I started sewing parts together upside down. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Un-sewing and re-sewing is not so much fun. Once I fixed my boo-boo I called it a day.

Have a marvelous Monday tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by.

quilting

Happy New Year!

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Well, here we are at the start of another new year and a new decade! 2019 was quite eventful for me. After 22 years working in the criminal justice system, I was able to take my retirement and pursue the work I love, longarm quilting, as my main employment. The first Monday morning of “retirement” was the happiest I can remember waking up in 30 years. It felt amazing!

One of the other reasons I wanted to retire so early was to he able to spend more time with my mother, who was in the local nursing home with dementia. I retired on May 31st, not knowing our extra time together would be so short. She passed on August 27th after falling and breaking her hip on the 9th. It was a catastrophic injury for her with her mental state. I’m thankful we had a few more lunches, bingo dates, etc. than we would have had if I had not been able to retire. I will miss her every single day of the rest of my life.

About that same time I had started keeping my two preschool age grandsons during the day after my daughter in law, a stay at home mom, was offered a full time teaching position at the local elementary school. What a blessing the extra time with those two boys has been for me.

Yes, 2019 was full of big, big changes here. I’m hoping to be a better blogger again in 2020. We shall see! I’ll leave off here with some shots of just one of the beautiful client quilts I was blessed to work on last year. Happy New Year, y’all! Thanks for stopping by!

quilting

Vigil

Wild Rose Quilter2 Comments

One of the hardest, most heartbreaking, yet rewarding things I’ve had to do in life is sitting vigil at the bedside of a loved one as they lay dying. Watching the life slowly slip away from their physical bodies. I sat vigil beside my late, beloved husband after life support was turned off after he succumbed to brain surgery complications, and my father as he lost his life to Alzheimer’s. Once again, I’m sitting vigil. My dear, sweet, precious mom, I’ll be right here. Waiting alongside you. I love you forever.