It's been crazy busy in our house the last few weeks. Here are a few things that have been happening. Mom finished the custom nautical quilt and the customer loved it. Mom had picked up some Christmas tree ornaments to make from a guild member also. Dad loved them so much that he kept hinting at mom to make some for our tree as well! So, she's been busy at night with those since they're made entirely by hand. (They're these cute, little snowmen with scarves and hats with pompoms on them. I really love helping with them, especially the cutting and arranging the hanging ribbon pieces. I'm quite good at picking them up and carrying them off to be organized. Mom seems to think I'm taking them to play with...the nerve of her sometimes!)
Mom's "new" bad knee (left side) finally got so bad she had to have surgery on it this past Tuesday. She's recovering well, although it's taking a bit longer to be completely off those horrible sticks she's been bounding around on. Apparently, longer than her vet wanted her to be. That's okay, though. She's been so busy lately that I feel it's good she's being forced to rest for a week. Soon she'll be back at work. The first thing on her agenda, work-wise, is to finish the t-shirt quilt she was going to make together with a friend (who can no longer participate in the construction of her quilt). Mom's still very excited about doing this as memory (she's made several of these for friends and family) quilts and t-shirt quilts are becoming some of her favorite quilts to make. Of course, these are a type of a side business for her as her main one is still finishing quilts with wonderful, professional quilting.
Which leads me to what this "Quickly" Post was supposed to be about: We've finally got our own website! Of course it's called Pumpkin's Quilt Corner, like the business. It's website address is: www.pumpkinsquiltcorner.com and the new email address is: pumpkinsquiltcorner@yahoo.com. Mouthfuls, I know, but I insisted! Everyone has to know who's business it is they're contacting, afterall (and I don't just mean mom's!). At any rate, this blog is most likely going to be moved to the website. Most of the previous posts will probably stay here as an archive if it proves to be too time consuming to move everything. It will be awhile before the website is up and running, but it's being heavily concentrated on since mom can't stand, literally. Hopefully she'll have the basics of the website up in a week or so.
So, until next time (hopefully at our new home) remember, paws are best used for quilting!
Pumpkin
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Siblings...Sort Of
Sorry, again, about the long time between posts. Mom's been very, very busy finishing a custom quilt, her first on the longarm, and has also been working on stuff for her new guild and just been busy with life stuff. I should make a note that this is NOT her first quilt on the longarm. Far from it. She's done lots of practice pieces, panel quilts, customer quilts, etc. Most of those have been Stitch in the Ditch or meandering or stippling or pantographs. This is her first custom designed one. She's pretty much designed all of the patterns on the quilt and is going to finish off with some thread painting. Cross your fingers and pray this goes well for her as she's very nervous. Thread painting is fun for her, but it will be a bit different doing it on a longarm this time when it's usually done on a home machine. She's confident in herself and her skills...mostly (you know how it is...everyone gets rattled sometimes), so I have no doubt all will go well.
Now, onto my siblings...sort of. As I believe I mentioned prior, I have quite a few "siblings." I have eight, in fact. Let me introduce you to them...
First off there is the old lady of the house (as well as Queen according to mom. I let her think that because Flutie's been with her so long and it gives them both comfort to believe that). She's a very pretty tortoise shell calico with four white paws and a white belly and chest. She is 15 and is mom's "Queen of My Heart." We had a scare with her earlier this past summer when she was diagnosed with a fatal blood cyst from a rupture in her abdomen. The vets said she'd die soon, but I guess God knows best because that was over four months ago and she's still kicking. She's as tough, smart, happy and healthy as can be for her age. I'm really glad they were wrong.
Next, of course, there's me...You've already been introduced to me, so other than stating that my younger brother has unseated me from my position of power (for the moment...it's always in a state of flux with us), there's not much to tell. I WILL get it back from him one day.
Meet the usurper...Mr. Darcy or Dr. Darcy, as mom calls him. He loves to cuddle with her, especially when she's not feeling good, thus the nickname. He's a HUGE cat (that's how he unseated me. He's almost twice as big as I am!). He weighs in at 17 lbs., but is so big he can stand on his back feet and put his paws on the kitchen counter and almost put his head on it. He's our youngest sibling and the new ruler (for now...just wait). He's also a pure bred Snowshoe cat. They're very, very rare to find in shelters, but mom and our human sister, Deb, found him in one. Needless to say, they jumped at the chance to adopt him as owning a Snowshoe was on mom's "Bucket List." (What the heck is that?)
Then there are the blacks, or ferals. All solid black siblings from a feral colony. There are three of them, two girls and one boy. Boo, Zee Zee, and Jack. Mom and dad had decided awhile back that if they were going to adopt again (after having a couple of handicapped cats already), they would look for ones that were handcapped to take in. Black cats are still some of the hardest for shelters to adopt, so they decided if they could find a handicapped, black cat, they would adopt it when the time came. They found one online over an hour away. They went and got her and brought her home, but she missed her brother and sister so much that it broke mom and dad's hearts, so they went back and got her brother and sister. That was Boo. She has only one eye. Her sister, Zee Zee, is partially blind in one eye. Jack is healthy and whole, but very dependent on his sisters. We call him "The Toddler." It took a long time for them to trust mom and dad, but they do now (mostly) and are very, very happy to be here. It's fun for our humans to watch their interactions since they are born siblings and they enjoy it very much.
Now, onto the others....Another handicapped sibling is Leon. He's the second oldest now at 7 and is also one-eyed. He lost his eye as a kitten, mom tells me, after they got him. It didn't take long for him to adjust, she said, and he doesn't seem to notice he's handicapped. (She says that of all of our handicapped members). He is, however, VERY MEAN! He doesn't like people, except for my human brother, Phil. Leon loves Phil so much that he follows him around like a dog. It's fun to watch them because they have a love/hate relationship. Phil sometimes complains that he hates Leon because he's so annoying (he's part Russian Blue), but the truth is he'd be devastated if anything happened to him. (I know these things about humans. I'm a cat.)
Then there's our big "teddy bear/linebacker" sister, Bella. She's a British Shorthair. She wasn't a shelter rescue, but was rescued from one of Phil's friend's. The family, sadly, was falling apart and Bella was in danger of going to a shelter, so mom and dad told Phil's friend (who was living with them at the time. I wasn't born yet when this all happened.) that he could keep her while he stayed with them but that when he left she would have to go with him. Bella was extremely shy and depressed and fat, mom says. She found out that the friend's sister was abusing Bella and that she spent her entire life locked in one room with books. The friend's sister's favorite thing to do to Bella was to pick her up and throw her at the dogs who would go after her. Well, after mom and dad introduced Bella to catnip, it seemed to awaken her from a "nightmare" and she started coming out of her shell. They wouldn't allow her to return to the abusive situation she was in, so thus Bella became a part of the family. She is a very loving girl now, although I don't like her at all. That's because she was the previous boss/sheriff of the house prior to my tenure and I still feel that I need to constantly remind her of that, especially when she starts getting cocky. I mentioned the books because Bella still has a thing for them and loves to play with them whenever she can.
Last, but not least, is mom's "joke-named" cat, Weasely. Yes, Weasely, as in Ron Weasely from Harry Potter. The joke is that, unlike me, he is NOT a ginger cat. He is a brown tabby. He's very shy (we don't know why other than one traumatizing experience when he was young of being chased by a girl who terrified him). He loves sister Deb and is very, very close to Jack and Zee Zee. In fact, the blacks are his fans. From the moment they laid eyes on him, they were enthralled and in love. Mom thinks that whomever was their caretaker/mother in their feral colony must've looked like him and that's why they took to him so fast. He is a sweety once he gets to know you. He LOVES to talk, though, and that gets annoying.
So...there are my, sort of (not birth), siblings. They are my companions and friends and sometimes my enemies and irritants. However, I love them very much and just wanted to share them with you all in case these guys are mentioned in future posts for some reason. Maybe I'll post photos at some point. Mom's making a "Picture This" pattern quilt featuring us all, so maybe I can put up the photos she uses in that quilt.
We have a big home to roam around in and my human parents, who love us very much, keep us inside full-time for our safety and protection. It's not cruel, as some people think, and none of us has any interest in leaving the house to go outside. Just thought I'd mention that...in case you were wondering.
On a secondary note, mom asked me to make a statement about adopting pets, especially handicapped ones. She wants you all to know that, while it wasn't their intention to get a handicapped pet, once they had one (Leon) and brother Jay brought home his Turkish Angora (white with blue eyes, meaning deaf) from Korea, they realized that there must be lots of handicapped cats out there that need homes. Some are handicapped with illnesses such as FIV or Feline Leukemia. Those are harder cases to adopt and care for, but still can be rewarding. However, those with a missing leg, eye, ear, deafness, what have you (being solid black also counts, in a way here) make wonderful pets. There is very little difference in the way you would care for these wonderful cats and they would be very appreciative for forever homes. Please consider adopting a handicapped pet (or a solid black one). You won't regret it. Contact your local shelters or check online to search for handicapped pets in your area.
Signing off for now...
Remember, Paws Are Best Used For Quilting
Now, onto my siblings...sort of. As I believe I mentioned prior, I have quite a few "siblings." I have eight, in fact. Let me introduce you to them...
First off there is the old lady of the house (as well as Queen according to mom. I let her think that because Flutie's been with her so long and it gives them both comfort to believe that). She's a very pretty tortoise shell calico with four white paws and a white belly and chest. She is 15 and is mom's "Queen of My Heart." We had a scare with her earlier this past summer when she was diagnosed with a fatal blood cyst from a rupture in her abdomen. The vets said she'd die soon, but I guess God knows best because that was over four months ago and she's still kicking. She's as tough, smart, happy and healthy as can be for her age. I'm really glad they were wrong.
Next, of course, there's me...You've already been introduced to me, so other than stating that my younger brother has unseated me from my position of power (for the moment...it's always in a state of flux with us), there's not much to tell. I WILL get it back from him one day.
Meet the usurper...Mr. Darcy or Dr. Darcy, as mom calls him. He loves to cuddle with her, especially when she's not feeling good, thus the nickname. He's a HUGE cat (that's how he unseated me. He's almost twice as big as I am!). He weighs in at 17 lbs., but is so big he can stand on his back feet and put his paws on the kitchen counter and almost put his head on it. He's our youngest sibling and the new ruler (for now...just wait). He's also a pure bred Snowshoe cat. They're very, very rare to find in shelters, but mom and our human sister, Deb, found him in one. Needless to say, they jumped at the chance to adopt him as owning a Snowshoe was on mom's "Bucket List." (What the heck is that?)
Then there are the blacks, or ferals. All solid black siblings from a feral colony. There are three of them, two girls and one boy. Boo, Zee Zee, and Jack. Mom and dad had decided awhile back that if they were going to adopt again (after having a couple of handicapped cats already), they would look for ones that were handcapped to take in. Black cats are still some of the hardest for shelters to adopt, so they decided if they could find a handicapped, black cat, they would adopt it when the time came. They found one online over an hour away. They went and got her and brought her home, but she missed her brother and sister so much that it broke mom and dad's hearts, so they went back and got her brother and sister. That was Boo. She has only one eye. Her sister, Zee Zee, is partially blind in one eye. Jack is healthy and whole, but very dependent on his sisters. We call him "The Toddler." It took a long time for them to trust mom and dad, but they do now (mostly) and are very, very happy to be here. It's fun for our humans to watch their interactions since they are born siblings and they enjoy it very much.
Now, onto the others....Another handicapped sibling is Leon. He's the second oldest now at 7 and is also one-eyed. He lost his eye as a kitten, mom tells me, after they got him. It didn't take long for him to adjust, she said, and he doesn't seem to notice he's handicapped. (She says that of all of our handicapped members). He is, however, VERY MEAN! He doesn't like people, except for my human brother, Phil. Leon loves Phil so much that he follows him around like a dog. It's fun to watch them because they have a love/hate relationship. Phil sometimes complains that he hates Leon because he's so annoying (he's part Russian Blue), but the truth is he'd be devastated if anything happened to him. (I know these things about humans. I'm a cat.)
Then there's our big "teddy bear/linebacker" sister, Bella. She's a British Shorthair. She wasn't a shelter rescue, but was rescued from one of Phil's friend's. The family, sadly, was falling apart and Bella was in danger of going to a shelter, so mom and dad told Phil's friend (who was living with them at the time. I wasn't born yet when this all happened.) that he could keep her while he stayed with them but that when he left she would have to go with him. Bella was extremely shy and depressed and fat, mom says. She found out that the friend's sister was abusing Bella and that she spent her entire life locked in one room with books. The friend's sister's favorite thing to do to Bella was to pick her up and throw her at the dogs who would go after her. Well, after mom and dad introduced Bella to catnip, it seemed to awaken her from a "nightmare" and she started coming out of her shell. They wouldn't allow her to return to the abusive situation she was in, so thus Bella became a part of the family. She is a very loving girl now, although I don't like her at all. That's because she was the previous boss/sheriff of the house prior to my tenure and I still feel that I need to constantly remind her of that, especially when she starts getting cocky. I mentioned the books because Bella still has a thing for them and loves to play with them whenever she can.
Last, but not least, is mom's "joke-named" cat, Weasely. Yes, Weasely, as in Ron Weasely from Harry Potter. The joke is that, unlike me, he is NOT a ginger cat. He is a brown tabby. He's very shy (we don't know why other than one traumatizing experience when he was young of being chased by a girl who terrified him). He loves sister Deb and is very, very close to Jack and Zee Zee. In fact, the blacks are his fans. From the moment they laid eyes on him, they were enthralled and in love. Mom thinks that whomever was their caretaker/mother in their feral colony must've looked like him and that's why they took to him so fast. He is a sweety once he gets to know you. He LOVES to talk, though, and that gets annoying.
So...there are my, sort of (not birth), siblings. They are my companions and friends and sometimes my enemies and irritants. However, I love them very much and just wanted to share them with you all in case these guys are mentioned in future posts for some reason. Maybe I'll post photos at some point. Mom's making a "Picture This" pattern quilt featuring us all, so maybe I can put up the photos she uses in that quilt.
We have a big home to roam around in and my human parents, who love us very much, keep us inside full-time for our safety and protection. It's not cruel, as some people think, and none of us has any interest in leaving the house to go outside. Just thought I'd mention that...in case you were wondering.
On a secondary note, mom asked me to make a statement about adopting pets, especially handicapped ones. She wants you all to know that, while it wasn't their intention to get a handicapped pet, once they had one (Leon) and brother Jay brought home his Turkish Angora (white with blue eyes, meaning deaf) from Korea, they realized that there must be lots of handicapped cats out there that need homes. Some are handicapped with illnesses such as FIV or Feline Leukemia. Those are harder cases to adopt and care for, but still can be rewarding. However, those with a missing leg, eye, ear, deafness, what have you (being solid black also counts, in a way here) make wonderful pets. There is very little difference in the way you would care for these wonderful cats and they would be very appreciative for forever homes. Please consider adopting a handicapped pet (or a solid black one). You won't regret it. Contact your local shelters or check online to search for handicapped pets in your area.
Signing off for now...
Remember, Paws Are Best Used For Quilting
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Quicky #1
I've decided to start a group of posts called quickys. Yes, I know that's not how you humans spell this, but these "Quickys" are rather going to be short blurps of postings by me to keep you all informed, in a short statement or two.
We've been very busy as business and whatnot is picking up due to the upcoming holidays. Mom's working on several things for a craft show and for her new guild as well. We haven't had anymore customer business for right now, but all of these items she's making are going to be used in shows as advertisement for the business.
Speaking of new things for the business, mom has decided to make T-Shirt quilts (and may be adding memory quilts later on as well). She's loving making the one she's on now and likes the idea of saving people's memories for them. She's not making just "regular" ones, but is adding sashing to the one she's working on right now and hopes to integrate quilt blocks to other quilts as well. Doing this can help expand a quilt to a larger size when someone doesn't have very many t-shirts for a quilt, if that is what someone wants and they don't have enough t-shirts for a full-sized bed quilt.
She's also been testing samples of battings and threads to find out which ones her "Lizzie" (a Tin Lizzie Longarm, but she named "her" Lizzie because she LOVES Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice) loves best and which ones are the nicest looking when used (in her opinion! Mine doesn't necessarily coincide with her's, as I like my threads to be thicker, more like yarn actually, so I may play with them...even though she does her BEST NOT to let me do that! Hrmph!).
Anyway, that's all for now. I'm waiting for mom to come feed me and then give us all treats! What fun that is when she hides them for us to find!
Oh, by the way, Mom's joined a class to make a pictorial quilt for Dad which will be featuring me and my feline brothers and sisters! So, as she prepares the photos, I'll do my best to introduce all of them to you in the photos section and will feature the quilt once it's finished, especially the quilting!
So, TA for now...and remember
Paws Are Best Used for Quilting!
We've been very busy as business and whatnot is picking up due to the upcoming holidays. Mom's working on several things for a craft show and for her new guild as well. We haven't had anymore customer business for right now, but all of these items she's making are going to be used in shows as advertisement for the business.
Speaking of new things for the business, mom has decided to make T-Shirt quilts (and may be adding memory quilts later on as well). She's loving making the one she's on now and likes the idea of saving people's memories for them. She's not making just "regular" ones, but is adding sashing to the one she's working on right now and hopes to integrate quilt blocks to other quilts as well. Doing this can help expand a quilt to a larger size when someone doesn't have very many t-shirts for a quilt, if that is what someone wants and they don't have enough t-shirts for a full-sized bed quilt.
She's also been testing samples of battings and threads to find out which ones her "Lizzie" (a Tin Lizzie Longarm, but she named "her" Lizzie because she LOVES Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice) loves best and which ones are the nicest looking when used (in her opinion! Mine doesn't necessarily coincide with her's, as I like my threads to be thicker, more like yarn actually, so I may play with them...even though she does her BEST NOT to let me do that! Hrmph!).
Anyway, that's all for now. I'm waiting for mom to come feed me and then give us all treats! What fun that is when she hides them for us to find!
Oh, by the way, Mom's joined a class to make a pictorial quilt for Dad which will be featuring me and my feline brothers and sisters! So, as she prepares the photos, I'll do my best to introduce all of them to you in the photos section and will feature the quilt once it's finished, especially the quilting!
So, TA for now...and remember
Paws Are Best Used for Quilting!
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Guilds
Well, I finally got mom to take the plunge! She's quilted for many years, but has pretty much taught herself everything (other than attending a total of three classes in 15 years or so). She's been a "lone wolf." (God how I hate that saying. It makes wolves sound cool by being by themselves. They're of the dog species, so they really stink! NOTHING a dog of ANY kind does is cool.) She's at a place where she really needs the communion with other quilters as well as it being a way for her to tie her passion for quilting with her love of helping others together. Making baby quilts and other type quilts for charity is a very exciting thing for her and she's jumped in with both feet to participate!
.
So, she's joined the Webster Quilt Guild in Webster, New York and went to her first meeting yesterday. She told me while she was installing her Top Tension Guage from Superior Threads on her machine tonight that the ladies were wonderful, welcoming and friendly. They were eager to make her feel at home, and because my dad drove my mom (he likes to say he's doing it for her so she doesn't have to worry about getting somewhere, but mom and I both know he loves everything about quilting, except making quilts himself, so he really wanted to go), he stayed and the ladies were tickled at this and welcomed him with open arms, even encouraging him to join so he can come to the meetings and officially help with stuff we need men's help with. Mom is trying to get him to join and start quilting. I hope she gets him to. I know he's really busy with work and whatnot, but I think he'd enjoy it if he took that last step and started sewing himself. But I digress, as usual.
Anyway, the ladies of the quilt guild were eager to get mom involved and she had several ask her to join different projects they're doing. She said that she felt overwhelmed with all the information that was given in an over four hour meeting (it was the first for this year, so lots of stuff had to be covered), but with the gentle guidance of a couple of long-term guild members at her table, she got her feet wet by joining the Block of the Month program, signed up to bring treats and hostess in December, signed up to help make Christmas tree ornaments for the Webster Library's Christmas tree, and agreed to make two baby quilts for the guild (at least) during the year. I think this isn't too much and she feels very happy about it. There are other guilds she wants to look into now, but dad has encouraged her not to get herself involved in too much stuff right away as she's got a growing business and that needs to be her number one priority regarding quilting right now. I let her know this was a good idea and she agreed.
I think I'll go sprawl on her bed with her right now. I also have to remind her that she's getting together with Jay's significant other tomorrow and they are going to design and start making a t-shirt quilt. (Jay's my big "brother," mom's oldest son). Mom really wants to learn this and make it part of her quilt business, although she's not 100 percent keen on making commissioned quilts, she does see where making a certain type from start to finish could be...profitable and fun, so she's going to try it. She also thinking about maybe trying private sewing or quilting lessons in the future after some consultation with a particular customer. She homeschooled her kids when they were young and has always enjoyed teaching. So, I've suggested that she put the idea on a back burner for now and focus on improving her quilting skills even more so that she can have more very pleased customers like she did recently. She's getting really good at all kinds of quilt patterns and has already invented a few of her own.
Well, I'm going to go now for sure. I have to remind her to see if there's a way to post photos to this blasted blog. I'm telling you, I'm thinking of trying to talk her into getting her own website so she can easily add extra pages and whatnot to her private site without all the headaches.
Night all and remember...
Paws are best used for quilting!
.
So, she's joined the Webster Quilt Guild in Webster, New York and went to her first meeting yesterday. She told me while she was installing her Top Tension Guage from Superior Threads on her machine tonight that the ladies were wonderful, welcoming and friendly. They were eager to make her feel at home, and because my dad drove my mom (he likes to say he's doing it for her so she doesn't have to worry about getting somewhere, but mom and I both know he loves everything about quilting, except making quilts himself, so he really wanted to go), he stayed and the ladies were tickled at this and welcomed him with open arms, even encouraging him to join so he can come to the meetings and officially help with stuff we need men's help with. Mom is trying to get him to join and start quilting. I hope she gets him to. I know he's really busy with work and whatnot, but I think he'd enjoy it if he took that last step and started sewing himself. But I digress, as usual.
Anyway, the ladies of the quilt guild were eager to get mom involved and she had several ask her to join different projects they're doing. She said that she felt overwhelmed with all the information that was given in an over four hour meeting (it was the first for this year, so lots of stuff had to be covered), but with the gentle guidance of a couple of long-term guild members at her table, she got her feet wet by joining the Block of the Month program, signed up to bring treats and hostess in December, signed up to help make Christmas tree ornaments for the Webster Library's Christmas tree, and agreed to make two baby quilts for the guild (at least) during the year. I think this isn't too much and she feels very happy about it. There are other guilds she wants to look into now, but dad has encouraged her not to get herself involved in too much stuff right away as she's got a growing business and that needs to be her number one priority regarding quilting right now. I let her know this was a good idea and she agreed.
I think I'll go sprawl on her bed with her right now. I also have to remind her that she's getting together with Jay's significant other tomorrow and they are going to design and start making a t-shirt quilt. (Jay's my big "brother," mom's oldest son). Mom really wants to learn this and make it part of her quilt business, although she's not 100 percent keen on making commissioned quilts, she does see where making a certain type from start to finish could be...profitable and fun, so she's going to try it. She also thinking about maybe trying private sewing or quilting lessons in the future after some consultation with a particular customer. She homeschooled her kids when they were young and has always enjoyed teaching. So, I've suggested that she put the idea on a back burner for now and focus on improving her quilting skills even more so that she can have more very pleased customers like she did recently. She's getting really good at all kinds of quilt patterns and has already invented a few of her own.
Well, I'm going to go now for sure. I have to remind her to see if there's a way to post photos to this blasted blog. I'm telling you, I'm thinking of trying to talk her into getting her own website so she can easily add extra pages and whatnot to her private site without all the headaches.
Night all and remember...
Paws are best used for quilting!
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Tutorial 1 - Proper Application of Borders
I'm not going to belabor anything about this today. Mom's got her first tutorial ready. We decided to post on the proper way to apply cornerstone and capped borders as they are the most popular. She'll cover mitered borders in a later tutorial.
Why this tutorial on borders? Well, it turns out that that is one of the biggest problems that presents itself when someone wants a quilt quilted...wavy borders. Mom has even got a couple of quilts that she has had lying around for awhile that have wavy borders. She wants to share this vital information, some parts which can also apply to adding block borders and even sashing, so that when someone brings a quilt to her or other professional longarm quilters they're not sent back with a request to reapply the borders.
So, without further ado, check out the following:
Tutorial 1 - Proper Application of Borders
Why this tutorial on borders? Well, it turns out that that is one of the biggest problems that presents itself when someone wants a quilt quilted...wavy borders. Mom has even got a couple of quilts that she has had lying around for awhile that have wavy borders. She wants to share this vital information, some parts which can also apply to adding block borders and even sashing, so that when someone brings a quilt to her or other professional longarm quilters they're not sent back with a request to reapply the borders.
So, without further ado, check out the following:
Tutorial 1 - Proper Application of Borders
First off, I've GOT to figure out how to get all of these pages under one heading, but for now, here's the Border Tutorial.
Hey everyone. Pumpkin decided that this was too boring to post for, so she's told me that I must do the tutorial on my own. She said she trusts me to not mess it up. Wow, I never thought I'd need approval from a cat to make a blog post!
Anyway, I want to talk to you all about applying borders properly. This isn't going to be a very long, drawn out tutorial. It doesn't need to be. However, this is something that is SO important when it comes to quilting...either on a domestic or longarm, although longarms feel it more when a border is out of whack. So, here we go.
I'm like a lot of people and sometimes buy premade kits because they're quick and easy to make most of the time. The problem with these kits is that they give you a number of inches of a material to cut for each border, but this amount isn't always accurate. In fact, it rarely is. We all have our own 1/4 inch seam allowance, even when using wonderful tools like Guidelines Precision Tool to make sure that we've marked a clear, scant 1/4 inch on our machines, we still often have differing sized 1/4 inches. They can be off a thread or two in the woven fabric and, believe me, that adds up over the surface of the quilt and by the time you add the border, you can have a quilt that doesn't come out the dimensions listed on the pattern or kit. So, what to do?
Well, this is the first step. We'll use an example of a capped border, as I call them.
1. Once the quilt top is finished and ready to apply the outer border, make sure to measure THROUGH THE CENTER of the quilt, both vertically for the side borders and horizontally for the top and bottom borders. This is the most crucial part to me. This gives you a true idea of what size you need to cut the border length.
It's also a good idea to measure near the edge of the borders just to see if there's a large discrepancy. If there is, you may want to take a good look at your quilt to see where it's not laying flat and go back to that area and see if there are any mistakes that need to be fixed, such as crooked seams, etc. After you've repaired your quilt, if necessary, and it lies nice and flat when laid out fully on a flat surface, take the measurements as instructed above.
Once you have your correct border measurements, go ahead and cut your border fabric to those measurements. Now, step number two:
2. When you are ready to apply your border, the first thing you want to do is fold the side border (using the example from above) in half and carefully mark it with a pin or safety pin. Do this on both sides. Now take the borders you cut for your sides and fold them in half and carefully pin that spot as well.
Step three: Pinning.
3. A lot of people don't like pinning when they sew, but I find that it saves a lot of time correcting errors to take the time to pin before sewing fabric together, especially when applying borders or sashing. This is why. You have to match those pinned quilt sides to the borders pins and, well, pin them together. Then you go out to each end of the border and match the edge to the edge of the quilt and pin it there. Then you can break it down further and work your way on each side of the center pin dividing each side continually until you have enough pins to hold it securely. Sometimes you might find that you have too much fabric. In that case, if you cut accurately (double check your border length if this happens) and it's not a large amount (I'm talking an 1/8 of an inch or less here), you can ease the fabric in. This could cause a small bit of a wave when the border is applied, but it's not something that can't be worked with when quilted. Now take your quilt to the machine and sew on the borders.
You would do the same for the top and bottom border. The only difference would be that, if you're applying cornerstone borders, it's imperative that you make those border seams intersect with the cornerstones are accurately. Usually, you apply your cornerstone to one border set (usually the top and bottom) and then you would just treat the whole as one border when measuring it and attaching it to the quilt.
I CANNOT express how important it is to follow these steps when applying outer borders...or ANY borders (say you have a quilt with two or three borders). In fact, I've found that using this technique when applying block borders or sashing to my quilt makes my quilts turn out wonderfully flat and the corner meets are crisp and true.
So next time you're getting ready to apply a border, try these methods and see if your border doesn't look a whole lot better when you lay your quilt out to inspect it prior to either quilting it yourself or sending it out to a longarm quilter to get it done.
So, that's all for now. Pumpkin has arrived to inspect what I've written. She seems pleased, which is a good thing because she's can be a harsh task master sometimes.
So, as she says...
Paws are best used for quilting!
Hey everyone. Pumpkin decided that this was too boring to post for, so she's told me that I must do the tutorial on my own. She said she trusts me to not mess it up. Wow, I never thought I'd need approval from a cat to make a blog post!
Anyway, I want to talk to you all about applying borders properly. This isn't going to be a very long, drawn out tutorial. It doesn't need to be. However, this is something that is SO important when it comes to quilting...either on a domestic or longarm, although longarms feel it more when a border is out of whack. So, here we go.
I'm like a lot of people and sometimes buy premade kits because they're quick and easy to make most of the time. The problem with these kits is that they give you a number of inches of a material to cut for each border, but this amount isn't always accurate. In fact, it rarely is. We all have our own 1/4 inch seam allowance, even when using wonderful tools like Guidelines Precision Tool to make sure that we've marked a clear, scant 1/4 inch on our machines, we still often have differing sized 1/4 inches. They can be off a thread or two in the woven fabric and, believe me, that adds up over the surface of the quilt and by the time you add the border, you can have a quilt that doesn't come out the dimensions listed on the pattern or kit. So, what to do?
Well, this is the first step. We'll use an example of a capped border, as I call them.
1. Once the quilt top is finished and ready to apply the outer border, make sure to measure THROUGH THE CENTER of the quilt, both vertically for the side borders and horizontally for the top and bottom borders. This is the most crucial part to me. This gives you a true idea of what size you need to cut the border length.
It's also a good idea to measure near the edge of the borders just to see if there's a large discrepancy. If there is, you may want to take a good look at your quilt to see where it's not laying flat and go back to that area and see if there are any mistakes that need to be fixed, such as crooked seams, etc. After you've repaired your quilt, if necessary, and it lies nice and flat when laid out fully on a flat surface, take the measurements as instructed above.
Once you have your correct border measurements, go ahead and cut your border fabric to those measurements. Now, step number two:
2. When you are ready to apply your border, the first thing you want to do is fold the side border (using the example from above) in half and carefully mark it with a pin or safety pin. Do this on both sides. Now take the borders you cut for your sides and fold them in half and carefully pin that spot as well.
Step three: Pinning.
3. A lot of people don't like pinning when they sew, but I find that it saves a lot of time correcting errors to take the time to pin before sewing fabric together, especially when applying borders or sashing. This is why. You have to match those pinned quilt sides to the borders pins and, well, pin them together. Then you go out to each end of the border and match the edge to the edge of the quilt and pin it there. Then you can break it down further and work your way on each side of the center pin dividing each side continually until you have enough pins to hold it securely. Sometimes you might find that you have too much fabric. In that case, if you cut accurately (double check your border length if this happens) and it's not a large amount (I'm talking an 1/8 of an inch or less here), you can ease the fabric in. This could cause a small bit of a wave when the border is applied, but it's not something that can't be worked with when quilted. Now take your quilt to the machine and sew on the borders.
You would do the same for the top and bottom border. The only difference would be that, if you're applying cornerstone borders, it's imperative that you make those border seams intersect with the cornerstones are accurately. Usually, you apply your cornerstone to one border set (usually the top and bottom) and then you would just treat the whole as one border when measuring it and attaching it to the quilt.
I CANNOT express how important it is to follow these steps when applying outer borders...or ANY borders (say you have a quilt with two or three borders). In fact, I've found that using this technique when applying block borders or sashing to my quilt makes my quilts turn out wonderfully flat and the corner meets are crisp and true.
So next time you're getting ready to apply a border, try these methods and see if your border doesn't look a whole lot better when you lay your quilt out to inspect it prior to either quilting it yourself or sending it out to a longarm quilter to get it done.
So, that's all for now. Pumpkin has arrived to inspect what I've written. She seems pleased, which is a good thing because she's can be a harsh task master sometimes.
So, as she says...
Paws are best used for quilting!
Friday, September 6, 2013
Injuries
Well, the last few weeks have been interesting for me and mom and the family. Mom was working on a quilt about three weeks ago, basting it down along the top side, getting it ready to go, when the needle jumped and went through her middle finger. She yanked her hand back so fast that (gross out factor here, FYI, in case you get...you know, grossed out) and pulled it out through the front of the finger from where it went it. It was a reflex action and all happened so quickly that she didn't realize how bad it was until she ran into the bathroom to wash it out.
Well, it was very bad and off to the Urgent Care she went with my "dad." They were, somehow, left sitting in the waiting room while they saw person after person who had come in behind them be taken in, which didn't sit well with mom and she started making comments out loud about it (I would've done more, like hiss and spit and done other unsavory things to get the humans' attention if it had been me or I had been with them...maybe a well placed yowl would've worked...). They finally got in to the exam room after about 90 minutes in a place that had an empty, basically, waiting room.
Anyway, after having it x-rayed and cleaned out, it turned out that the few stitches it needed couldn't be done because the (gross out number 2 here) tissue was, basically, hamburger. I know. I know. GROSS! Mom's a trooper though and she was back at work within a few days, wearing a splint over the finger to protect it from getting banged against something.
She worked really hard on the quilt she was doing, but found that it had some difficulties she'd never encountered before. She ended up having to unpick her stitch in the ditch in different areas and it took her three tries before she threw her hands up in the air and decided to quilt the quilt old-school style. She says it was kind of freeing to realize she didn't have to follow all of the "rules" about how to quilt on a frame. The quilt turned out really nice too. I gave it a good look over and was very pleased.
Mom's also been working on a few other quilts at the same time and has a recommendation for a quick way to load/unload and change quilts on the frame (I hardily concur, by the way):
RED SNAPPERS by Renae Haddadin (from over at quiltsonthecorner.com) as well as her Red-E-Edge Side Clamps!
Mom has moved her loading time down from over an hour (for a King Sized quilt) to just over 40 minutes (counting the basting and side clamping). These are, in the kitty vernacular, cool as a catnip mouse! They are these plastic rods attached together with dowels that are then fed into a sleeve-like area on the edge of the canvas leaders on the frame. Once in there, the quilt is laid over the area with the rods and in no time at all a "snapper" is clipped over the quilt on the canvassed rod and the quilt is attached! How much faster than pins is that? I've told mom to put in a link to Renae's Video on this amazing product, which will be posted at the end of this...post.
These side clamps don't just take a small bite out of the side of the loaded quilt, but clamps the whole length of whatever size you've ordered! This provides a full, even tension, with NO GAPS where it's on the quilt at making the tensioning of the quilt on the frame SO much easier!
I have to say that most of the other kitties don't appreciate the snapping sound when she applies them to her quilts, but I love to hear it and watch her apply them...when I'm allowed in the quilt room when she's working on her own quilts. I do feel badly, a bit, for nagging her to death to be in the room with her when she's working because she then has to thoroughly clean it again before starting a customer quilt. She says it makes her be extremely picky and thorough when she does her cleaning, so I guess I won't feel too bad about it. It is, after all, my business to. Otherwise it wouldn't be named after me!
Anyway, I'm digressing again, as I so often do. Mom wanted me to let everyone know she's not affiliated in any way with Quilts on the Corner. She just wanted to share what she thinks is one of the coolest products she's ever used for her quilting. Anyway, if you're a longarm quilter, please take a look at these products. They can really speed up your load times. Mom says she just wishes she'd found them a lot sooner.
So, as I've said, an interesting week. We had something that could've been very bad happen and we've had something that really improved mom's work time. It's almost like it was meant to balance each other out! So, here's the link to the YouTube video of Renae's amazing product, Red Snappers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udj94FQ1juE
As well as the Red - E - Edge video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6l5lq_lttI
Let us know if you try these products. I know mom would really like to know, as would I.
Oh, on the unposted tutorials, well, you can understand why she hasn't done that yet, I hope. She's realized that she might go with a more basic first tutorial than loading a quilt on the longarm, but will focus more on what to do to add borders to quilts to get a nice square quilt when you're finished, which makes it turn out better when longarm quilted.
So, until then, remember:
Paws are best used for quilting!
Well, it was very bad and off to the Urgent Care she went with my "dad." They were, somehow, left sitting in the waiting room while they saw person after person who had come in behind them be taken in, which didn't sit well with mom and she started making comments out loud about it (I would've done more, like hiss and spit and done other unsavory things to get the humans' attention if it had been me or I had been with them...maybe a well placed yowl would've worked...). They finally got in to the exam room after about 90 minutes in a place that had an empty, basically, waiting room.
Anyway, after having it x-rayed and cleaned out, it turned out that the few stitches it needed couldn't be done because the (gross out number 2 here) tissue was, basically, hamburger. I know. I know. GROSS! Mom's a trooper though and she was back at work within a few days, wearing a splint over the finger to protect it from getting banged against something.
She worked really hard on the quilt she was doing, but found that it had some difficulties she'd never encountered before. She ended up having to unpick her stitch in the ditch in different areas and it took her three tries before she threw her hands up in the air and decided to quilt the quilt old-school style. She says it was kind of freeing to realize she didn't have to follow all of the "rules" about how to quilt on a frame. The quilt turned out really nice too. I gave it a good look over and was very pleased.
Mom's also been working on a few other quilts at the same time and has a recommendation for a quick way to load/unload and change quilts on the frame (I hardily concur, by the way):
RED SNAPPERS by Renae Haddadin (from over at quiltsonthecorner.com) as well as her Red-E-Edge Side Clamps!
Mom has moved her loading time down from over an hour (for a King Sized quilt) to just over 40 minutes (counting the basting and side clamping). These are, in the kitty vernacular, cool as a catnip mouse! They are these plastic rods attached together with dowels that are then fed into a sleeve-like area on the edge of the canvas leaders on the frame. Once in there, the quilt is laid over the area with the rods and in no time at all a "snapper" is clipped over the quilt on the canvassed rod and the quilt is attached! How much faster than pins is that? I've told mom to put in a link to Renae's Video on this amazing product, which will be posted at the end of this...post.
These side clamps don't just take a small bite out of the side of the loaded quilt, but clamps the whole length of whatever size you've ordered! This provides a full, even tension, with NO GAPS where it's on the quilt at making the tensioning of the quilt on the frame SO much easier!
I have to say that most of the other kitties don't appreciate the snapping sound when she applies them to her quilts, but I love to hear it and watch her apply them...when I'm allowed in the quilt room when she's working on her own quilts. I do feel badly, a bit, for nagging her to death to be in the room with her when she's working because she then has to thoroughly clean it again before starting a customer quilt. She says it makes her be extremely picky and thorough when she does her cleaning, so I guess I won't feel too bad about it. It is, after all, my business to. Otherwise it wouldn't be named after me!
Anyway, I'm digressing again, as I so often do. Mom wanted me to let everyone know she's not affiliated in any way with Quilts on the Corner. She just wanted to share what she thinks is one of the coolest products she's ever used for her quilting. Anyway, if you're a longarm quilter, please take a look at these products. They can really speed up your load times. Mom says she just wishes she'd found them a lot sooner.
So, as I've said, an interesting week. We had something that could've been very bad happen and we've had something that really improved mom's work time. It's almost like it was meant to balance each other out! So, here's the link to the YouTube video of Renae's amazing product, Red Snappers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udj94FQ1juE
As well as the Red - E - Edge video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6l5lq_lttI
Let us know if you try these products. I know mom would really like to know, as would I.
Oh, on the unposted tutorials, well, you can understand why she hasn't done that yet, I hope. She's realized that she might go with a more basic first tutorial than loading a quilt on the longarm, but will focus more on what to do to add borders to quilts to get a nice square quilt when you're finished, which makes it turn out better when longarm quilted.
So, until then, remember:
Paws are best used for quilting!
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Busyness
Wow, another almost two weeks has past since my last post. All I can say is...it's do to Busyness. No, not business (although that technically is what the busyness has been about...meh). Mom's been cleaning out the Quilt Corner and finish up a commissioned quilt (yes, THAT quilt...the nightmare one!). I'm really pleased with how it turned out and I know she is too, especially considering how many problems she encountered with the fabrics and whatnot. That's good news and was a large potion of her busyness.
I have to admit, I didn't like her cleaning her space and organizing it a little bit better. I liked things just the way they were. It's not like it was dirty or anything, but because she moved stuff around, some of my favorite places for napping (when she'd let me in the room) were taken away or changed. This made me quite cranky and I had to take it out on someone. I DON'T like my Quilt Corner being messed with or changed. I kind of picked on the somewhat slow, gangly, HUGE (BIG doesn't even begin to describe how large he is) younger brother, Darcy...er, MR. Darcy. Yes, mom named him after THAT Mr. Darcy. She loves Jane Austen...too much if you ask me, but then what do I know. ( I haven't read Jane Austen or any of her novels since, well, I'm a cat and if a book hasn't been published in Kittenese, well, I just don't bother with it.) Anyway, I was picking on him. He's easy to do this to sometimes because he's such a lover and doesn't always appreciate a scrap. To give him credit, though, he does come out on top on occasion...but not this night.
At any rate, the business is coming along splendidly and though mom's only had two customers so far, one has asked for her to make another quilt for her. Mom took the commission from this woman (the nightmare...otherwise known as Wind and Waves), but isn't sure she wants to go down that road anymore. She does love to do handwork, but mostly does her own stuff by hand when watching TV with dad in the evenings. I'm trying to convince her that that time should be dedicated to me and my brothers and sisters by laying right next to her occasionally and generally keeping her busy handing out treats and whatnot.
Mom's determined to try this new method of loading her longarm machine. She saw it on an old episode of Linda's Longarm Quilting. It showed how you can load two quilts on the machine at the same time so that it helps you do things a bit faster. Since both of the customer quilts she has right now would seem to be able to fit, she's considering doing that. Of course, the show didn't tell all the logistics of it, so I think mom will be laying awake at night the next couple of nights trying to figure out the best way to go about doing that. Just think how much time can be saved if she can successfully accomplish this! I have no doubt she will because, well, she's MY mom and I picked her as MY person and I wouldn't have done that if she wasn't just a bit intelligent. I just don't like idiotic behavior in people and she's not like that! If this works, I'll let you know and even maybe make her very first written tutorial on double loading...if I can convince her not to be shy, maybe I can get her to even video it and post it here. Wouldn't that be cool?
Well, I just saw a red spot go flying down the carpet and I want to catch it! Talk to you all later!
Remember, paws are best used for quilting!
Pumpkin
I have to admit, I didn't like her cleaning her space and organizing it a little bit better. I liked things just the way they were. It's not like it was dirty or anything, but because she moved stuff around, some of my favorite places for napping (when she'd let me in the room) were taken away or changed. This made me quite cranky and I had to take it out on someone. I DON'T like my Quilt Corner being messed with or changed. I kind of picked on the somewhat slow, gangly, HUGE (BIG doesn't even begin to describe how large he is) younger brother, Darcy...er, MR. Darcy. Yes, mom named him after THAT Mr. Darcy. She loves Jane Austen...too much if you ask me, but then what do I know. ( I haven't read Jane Austen or any of her novels since, well, I'm a cat and if a book hasn't been published in Kittenese, well, I just don't bother with it.) Anyway, I was picking on him. He's easy to do this to sometimes because he's such a lover and doesn't always appreciate a scrap. To give him credit, though, he does come out on top on occasion...but not this night.
At any rate, the business is coming along splendidly and though mom's only had two customers so far, one has asked for her to make another quilt for her. Mom took the commission from this woman (the nightmare...otherwise known as Wind and Waves), but isn't sure she wants to go down that road anymore. She does love to do handwork, but mostly does her own stuff by hand when watching TV with dad in the evenings. I'm trying to convince her that that time should be dedicated to me and my brothers and sisters by laying right next to her occasionally and generally keeping her busy handing out treats and whatnot.
Mom's determined to try this new method of loading her longarm machine. She saw it on an old episode of Linda's Longarm Quilting. It showed how you can load two quilts on the machine at the same time so that it helps you do things a bit faster. Since both of the customer quilts she has right now would seem to be able to fit, she's considering doing that. Of course, the show didn't tell all the logistics of it, so I think mom will be laying awake at night the next couple of nights trying to figure out the best way to go about doing that. Just think how much time can be saved if she can successfully accomplish this! I have no doubt she will because, well, she's MY mom and I picked her as MY person and I wouldn't have done that if she wasn't just a bit intelligent. I just don't like idiotic behavior in people and she's not like that! If this works, I'll let you know and even maybe make her very first written tutorial on double loading...if I can convince her not to be shy, maybe I can get her to even video it and post it here. Wouldn't that be cool?
Well, I just saw a red spot go flying down the carpet and I want to catch it! Talk to you all later!
Remember, paws are best used for quilting!
Pumpkin
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Countdown
Big High Paws Everyone! We were planning on opening Pumpkin's Quilt Corner on September 1, 2013, but had the opportunity to get it going early. Therefore, we "officially" opened for business July 27, 2013. Mom met with her first customer! (The business is still in countdown mode as the quilt won't actually be delivered to mom until Augst 10, 2013, so THAT'S the "official" date for me!)
I wasn't allowed to go because mom is meeting her "clients" (what does that word even mean?) at a local quilt and sewing machine shop. I don't think she'd mind me giving her friend and mentor a shout out, so here's to Jackie Lynn's Discount Sewing Center in Rochester, New York! HI Jackie!!! See, I'm waving my beautiful orange paw at you! See me??? Jackie LOVES kitties as much as mom and dad and the fam do. In fact, she takes care of many feral kitties that live outside her store. That makes her tops in my book.
Anyway, I digress, as usual. Mom had a great meeting with her first official customer and was very careful about all of the paperwork and whatnot so that the meeting would go smoothly. The woman mom met with, she said, was very nice. She can't wait to get started working on her quilt.
Mom couldn't take the lady's quilt right away because she promised one of my human dad's friends that she'd make one for her (NOT as part of the business) completely...from start to finish. I'm surprised mom didn't rant about that one (maybe she wanted to leave me to) for hours and hours and pages and pages. It was a true nightmare for her, which left me feeling unhappy because there were days when she refused to even go into Pumpkin's Quilt Corner because of that. (Well, that is why I think she didn't go in...She said it was because she hurt her back. I'm telling you...you humans need to figure out a way to get spines made and transplanted into your bodies that are built like a cat's. We can turn on a dime...thus the myth about a cat always landing on it's feet. We can from about six or seven feet up...most of the time, but forget it from heights higher than that. Oh we do sometimes, but better not to test it out.)
Mom says I can't give details as it could get her into trouble, but let's suffice it to say that the quilt she had such problems with was a panel quilt and the panels were printed on the fabric all askew (I think that means crooked). Even after complaining and getting a replacement panel, it was still the same. She says she won't buy panels or panel quilt kits online (or maybe ever) again after this. She had to buy a couple of extra tools to try and get one that would help her "fussy" cut the panel and then she had to try and find a type of fabric that is no longer "in style" so it took her weeks to find one that, sort of, worked. She's about ready to construct the quilt and I've got my paws (all four of them) crossed that she doesn't have any more problems with the quilt. I know she wanted to do a custom design on the quilt, but now will have to settle for a pantograph, which makes her sad, but what can she do?
Wow! I didn't even mean to tell you all about the "nightmare" quilt, but I guess sometimes we all just need to rant. I'm the one ranting because it was heartbreaking to see mom get so angry she'd throw stuff (mostly paper) across the room once. Mom pretty much NEVER gets mad (not even when one of us accidentally scratches her), so this should tell you how frustrating the whole thing has been.
At any rate, we are now officially counting down the days on our paws (and fingers) until the customer's quilt is delivered to us. Mom is busy working on organizing the paperwork and making sure all the numbers are correct as well as practicing the stipple pattern in the size requested by the customer. (This on top of the friend's quilt!) Needless to say, this has been an extremely busy last few days, but I know mom and she's up to it. So, everyone...count with us and be ready for Pumpkin's Quilt Corner to officially blast off on 8/10/2013!!
As always:
Remember, Paws Are Best Used for Quilting!
I wasn't allowed to go because mom is meeting her "clients" (what does that word even mean?) at a local quilt and sewing machine shop. I don't think she'd mind me giving her friend and mentor a shout out, so here's to Jackie Lynn's Discount Sewing Center in Rochester, New York! HI Jackie!!! See, I'm waving my beautiful orange paw at you! See me??? Jackie LOVES kitties as much as mom and dad and the fam do. In fact, she takes care of many feral kitties that live outside her store. That makes her tops in my book.
Anyway, I digress, as usual. Mom had a great meeting with her first official customer and was very careful about all of the paperwork and whatnot so that the meeting would go smoothly. The woman mom met with, she said, was very nice. She can't wait to get started working on her quilt.
Mom couldn't take the lady's quilt right away because she promised one of my human dad's friends that she'd make one for her (NOT as part of the business) completely...from start to finish. I'm surprised mom didn't rant about that one (maybe she wanted to leave me to) for hours and hours and pages and pages. It was a true nightmare for her, which left me feeling unhappy because there were days when she refused to even go into Pumpkin's Quilt Corner because of that. (Well, that is why I think she didn't go in...She said it was because she hurt her back. I'm telling you...you humans need to figure out a way to get spines made and transplanted into your bodies that are built like a cat's. We can turn on a dime...thus the myth about a cat always landing on it's feet. We can from about six or seven feet up...most of the time, but forget it from heights higher than that. Oh we do sometimes, but better not to test it out.)
Mom says I can't give details as it could get her into trouble, but let's suffice it to say that the quilt she had such problems with was a panel quilt and the panels were printed on the fabric all askew (I think that means crooked). Even after complaining and getting a replacement panel, it was still the same. She says she won't buy panels or panel quilt kits online (or maybe ever) again after this. She had to buy a couple of extra tools to try and get one that would help her "fussy" cut the panel and then she had to try and find a type of fabric that is no longer "in style" so it took her weeks to find one that, sort of, worked. She's about ready to construct the quilt and I've got my paws (all four of them) crossed that she doesn't have any more problems with the quilt. I know she wanted to do a custom design on the quilt, but now will have to settle for a pantograph, which makes her sad, but what can she do?
Wow! I didn't even mean to tell you all about the "nightmare" quilt, but I guess sometimes we all just need to rant. I'm the one ranting because it was heartbreaking to see mom get so angry she'd throw stuff (mostly paper) across the room once. Mom pretty much NEVER gets mad (not even when one of us accidentally scratches her), so this should tell you how frustrating the whole thing has been.
At any rate, we are now officially counting down the days on our paws (and fingers) until the customer's quilt is delivered to us. Mom is busy working on organizing the paperwork and making sure all the numbers are correct as well as practicing the stipple pattern in the size requested by the customer. (This on top of the friend's quilt!) Needless to say, this has been an extremely busy last few days, but I know mom and she's up to it. So, everyone...count with us and be ready for Pumpkin's Quilt Corner to officially blast off on 8/10/2013!!
As always:
Remember, Paws Are Best Used for Quilting!
Monday, July 15, 2013
Preparations...
My mom is getting very nervous, but excited too! The time for our business, Pumpkin's Quilt Corner, to open it's hypothetical doors for business is coming up soon. We decided on September 1, 2013, as long as everything is ready to go on that date. I'm excited and nervous too. I've been bugging mom to spend more time in the Quilt Corner (which is in our home) because she's now locked me out of our bedroom at night!
The reason for this outrage, she says, is because that crotchety old woman, Flutie (the Old One) has been diagnosed with some kind of blood cyst or cancer in her stomach. The vets said she would die soon and since she's been mom's closest friend for years, mom has been kind of sad. So, she decided to keep Flutie from being "picked on" (hey, I've got to keep everyone in line, especially at night) at during the night that she would be locked in mom's room with her. I am REALLY angry about this! I must admit that, perhaps, I've taken out too much of my frustration on the others, but a little extra toughness, especially on that grey THING, Bella (the former sheriff), helps to keep her in line.
My ponderings are wondering from the quilting business, for which I apologize. I will have times when that happens, as evidenced in my blog title.
Now, back to business. Mom has been feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the paperwork and whatnot to get going, but she's been a real trooper. She's being really thorough and making sure everything is done correctly and accurately. She's also been practicing her pantographing and even some stencil quilting and custom quilting. She LOVES freehand quilting. So do I as it's fun to sit on the back side of the table and watch her work (if I'm not napping there). I can't do that when she's using pantographs. I do like when she finishes her practice pieces more than when she finishes real quilts, or quilts real quilts. I get to test the comfortableness of the practice pieces, which makes me VERY happy. Of course, being the magnanimous ruler I am, I let the others try out the quilt pieces too...when mom let's them into the room, which is hardly EVER. Only I get to come in most of the time since it's MY business and mom just works for me. Of course, she's warned me repeatedly that once the inventory is completed prior to starting the business, I may not be allowed at all (yeah, right! I'll convince her to just put a disclaimer in her business software warning about pet hair and dander being on her quilts) once she starts taking in customer quilts. She does get tough with us once in awhile, so who knows, maybe she'll do that when she opens our business, but that doesn't seem fair, does it?
Anyway, there's so much to do to get ready for this. I really hope it works out for her. Right now she's trying to figure out the right prices to charge since it's kind of hard to figure that out, not only based on skill, but also based on competition and average pricing in our area. It's not the easiest thing to find out other quilters' prices as they aren't the most forthcoming about them. I wonder why that is. As busy as they are all reported to be, you'd think they'd gladly work together and share information and whatnot, but I guess the competition makes them not only seemingly secretive, but also crabby on occasion when asked about pricing. Maybe it has something to do with money.
I don't quite get the whole money thing. It's just NOT something we have in out kitty world. It's not necessary because of the way we've set up our societies, both domestic and in the wild. Oh well, I digress...again. I feel hungry. I think I'll go see if I can get mom to give us some of that oh-so-yummy soft food she's been "hiding" from us (like she can fool me).
So, signing off for now.
Remember Paws are best used for quilting!
The reason for this outrage, she says, is because that crotchety old woman, Flutie (the Old One) has been diagnosed with some kind of blood cyst or cancer in her stomach. The vets said she would die soon and since she's been mom's closest friend for years, mom has been kind of sad. So, she decided to keep Flutie from being "picked on" (hey, I've got to keep everyone in line, especially at night) at during the night that she would be locked in mom's room with her. I am REALLY angry about this! I must admit that, perhaps, I've taken out too much of my frustration on the others, but a little extra toughness, especially on that grey THING, Bella (the former sheriff), helps to keep her in line.
My ponderings are wondering from the quilting business, for which I apologize. I will have times when that happens, as evidenced in my blog title.
Now, back to business. Mom has been feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the paperwork and whatnot to get going, but she's been a real trooper. She's being really thorough and making sure everything is done correctly and accurately. She's also been practicing her pantographing and even some stencil quilting and custom quilting. She LOVES freehand quilting. So do I as it's fun to sit on the back side of the table and watch her work (if I'm not napping there). I can't do that when she's using pantographs. I do like when she finishes her practice pieces more than when she finishes real quilts, or quilts real quilts. I get to test the comfortableness of the practice pieces, which makes me VERY happy. Of course, being the magnanimous ruler I am, I let the others try out the quilt pieces too...when mom let's them into the room, which is hardly EVER. Only I get to come in most of the time since it's MY business and mom just works for me. Of course, she's warned me repeatedly that once the inventory is completed prior to starting the business, I may not be allowed at all (yeah, right! I'll convince her to just put a disclaimer in her business software warning about pet hair and dander being on her quilts) once she starts taking in customer quilts. She does get tough with us once in awhile, so who knows, maybe she'll do that when she opens our business, but that doesn't seem fair, does it?
Anyway, there's so much to do to get ready for this. I really hope it works out for her. Right now she's trying to figure out the right prices to charge since it's kind of hard to figure that out, not only based on skill, but also based on competition and average pricing in our area. It's not the easiest thing to find out other quilters' prices as they aren't the most forthcoming about them. I wonder why that is. As busy as they are all reported to be, you'd think they'd gladly work together and share information and whatnot, but I guess the competition makes them not only seemingly secretive, but also crabby on occasion when asked about pricing. Maybe it has something to do with money.
I don't quite get the whole money thing. It's just NOT something we have in out kitty world. It's not necessary because of the way we've set up our societies, both domestic and in the wild. Oh well, I digress...again. I feel hungry. I think I'll go see if I can get mom to give us some of that oh-so-yummy soft food she's been "hiding" from us (like she can fool me).
So, signing off for now.
Remember Paws are best used for quilting!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Trials
Again a huge amount of time has passed for which I am sorry. Kitty things have kept me busy what with a virus going through my house and several kitties getting sick. I also lost another friend, Zippy, a couple of months ago who was 16 and his old body couldn't fight off the virus. In the end, I told mom that it was time to say goodbye to him and let him go to his rest. It has been very hard for her losing two beloved pet friends whom had been in the family for a long time. We did add another shelter kitty, but it turned out he is a "pure blood." Reminds me of those Harry Potter movies mom likes watching, but he's not a snob like the "pure bloods" in those movies are. Actually, he's kind of a Baby Huey (wow, do people even use that phrase anymore? Where did I even hear that???). He's cute, sweet, cuddly, and HUGE. Mom's started calling him her "horse." Then the "old girl" (our 14 1/2 year old sister, Flutie...mom calls her "the Queen." Yeah, right. I think THAT adage should ONLY belong to me since I am the boss and undisputed ruler of the house, but mom says not. Age, I guess, counts for something sometimes!) had to have about nine teeth worked on. My gosh that was totally unexpected! It totally worried mom to have "her heart" go under anesthesia, but everything worked out fine. So, that's another good thing that happened to offset the trials.
Then her longarm machine decided to not work correctly and it's taken her a long time to get it fixed. Actually, she just got it fixed today!!! YAY!!!! I was really, really missing our time together while she works. She wasn't able to use the machine much at all unless it was with the stitch regulator (what is that?) off. Talk about trial! Even the positive of getting a new "little" brother (he hardly qualifies as little...I can't stress that enough!) have been trials in and of themselves. This got me thinking...
How many of you all use your quilting as a way to reduce stress? Mom said that she didn't realize how getting into the rhythm of quilting totally relaxed her and that she was working more the more stressed she was. She said that not having her machine was hard on her because she lost one of her stress reducers. I don't know about all that, but I know that I HATED not being in my "office" overseeing her working. My time with her alone in the "office" was hard on me too, but now we should be able to get back to work designing and quilting quilts! YAY AGAIN! I hope all of you will think about what it is that helps reduce stress...even if it isn't quilting...I CAN think of one thing most of you will probably use...CHOCOLATE!!! Mom sometimes says that she wishes she'd have a vat of it to swim in (that sounds sticky, which I DON'T LIKE!) to relieve her stress! Isn't that funny?
Then her longarm machine decided to not work correctly and it's taken her a long time to get it fixed. Actually, she just got it fixed today!!! YAY!!!! I was really, really missing our time together while she works. She wasn't able to use the machine much at all unless it was with the stitch regulator (what is that?) off. Talk about trial! Even the positive of getting a new "little" brother (he hardly qualifies as little...I can't stress that enough!) have been trials in and of themselves. This got me thinking...
How many of you all use your quilting as a way to reduce stress? Mom said that she didn't realize how getting into the rhythm of quilting totally relaxed her and that she was working more the more stressed she was. She said that not having her machine was hard on her because she lost one of her stress reducers. I don't know about all that, but I know that I HATED not being in my "office" overseeing her working. My time with her alone in the "office" was hard on me too, but now we should be able to get back to work designing and quilting quilts! YAY AGAIN! I hope all of you will think about what it is that helps reduce stress...even if it isn't quilting...I CAN think of one thing most of you will probably use...CHOCOLATE!!! Mom sometimes says that she wishes she'd have a vat of it to swim in (that sounds sticky, which I DON'T LIKE!) to relieve her stress! Isn't that funny?
Monday, March 18, 2013
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Beginnings
Ah, to begin. That's almost a Hamletarian (is that a real word?) thought! Not that I'm supposed to know anything about Hamlet. Truth is...most people don't know that Hamlet was originally written in Catonese (No, not the Chinese dialect Catonese...). You see, CAT-onese is the language of Felines the world over. Of course, just as in humans, the Felines of the world have different dialects, so sometimes we don't understand each other. However, most high-class, domesticated kitties are well-educated and, in their education, were required to read Kittenspeare (original author of Hamlet...He was Shakespeare's cat and when he left out his writings of the play and the human found them, he stole it from Kittenspeare and had it...and all of Kittenspeare's writings...published under his own human name...As if HE had the intelligence to write such amazing plays! At any rate, that is why I made the reference to Hamlet, which is a HUGE detour from my intended beginning.
So...to begin...again.
My name is Pumpkin. I am a very rare kitty. No one had to actually tell me that. I knew that from the beginning. I believe any mutant kitty is rare...and special..and I'm a mutant kitty. I am the smartest, brightest and toughest kitty in the world...or my world anyway. I do think if I were to leave my protected environment (where I reign supreme) and enter the larger world, I would soon conquer and become the Sheriff there as well as in my house...But again, I digress. I do have to say this...my humans tell each other that I'm "hardcore" because I like to sharpen my claws on bricks. I'm amazed to hear this! Don't all kitties do that?
Anyway, back to my introduction. I have decided to track and follow the beginnings of my favorite human's steps into a longarm quilting machine business. Yes, I know all about this subject as I am her boss. I determine when she will work and when she must put her fabrics away. I oversee all of her work and will tell her that she needs to put things away and stop working so I can sit on her lap by attacking the fabrics she's working with or scratching at her doors when she is in her "quilting" room. I used to be allowed in there to watch over her sewing (I loved seeing the needle go up and down, but it scared her to have me so close so she made me leave the table), but I have been banished since putting her first quilt on her new frame. The nerve!!! Just because I needed to walk over the quilt on the frame every time I came in to inspect her work doesn't mean I'm going to ruin it...as she thinks I am. Just because I lept onto it and tore half the quilt down from the frame one night (I was checking to see if it was resilient...it didn't pass the test), doesn't mean I can't be trusted to continue to be in the room with her. Regardless of my banishment, I remain her boss and will pester at her doors to make her stop working...So, that actually makes me the boss...thus MY starting this blog.
I have great things planned for our times together...many thoughts and things I want to think on (thus the ponderings) and share. I hope that you'll join me on this journey with my human. I think it will be fun to follow what she's doing and learning...and I hope you'll enjoy what I tell you. I will try to make it interesting and informative...but remember...I'm a Queen Kitty and Sheriff of my house so you may be surprised at what you read or learn. I hope you'll join me when I have time to write.
Anyway, it's getting really late...or early...depending on what species' time schedule you're looking at. I think I'll look at the human's time for now...thus the getting "really late." So, for now, I'm off to sleep with my human.
Sleep well!
So...to begin...again.
My name is Pumpkin. I am a very rare kitty. No one had to actually tell me that. I knew that from the beginning. I believe any mutant kitty is rare...and special..and I'm a mutant kitty. I am the smartest, brightest and toughest kitty in the world...or my world anyway. I do think if I were to leave my protected environment (where I reign supreme) and enter the larger world, I would soon conquer and become the Sheriff there as well as in my house...But again, I digress. I do have to say this...my humans tell each other that I'm "hardcore" because I like to sharpen my claws on bricks. I'm amazed to hear this! Don't all kitties do that?
Anyway, back to my introduction. I have decided to track and follow the beginnings of my favorite human's steps into a longarm quilting machine business. Yes, I know all about this subject as I am her boss. I determine when she will work and when she must put her fabrics away. I oversee all of her work and will tell her that she needs to put things away and stop working so I can sit on her lap by attacking the fabrics she's working with or scratching at her doors when she is in her "quilting" room. I used to be allowed in there to watch over her sewing (I loved seeing the needle go up and down, but it scared her to have me so close so she made me leave the table), but I have been banished since putting her first quilt on her new frame. The nerve!!! Just because I needed to walk over the quilt on the frame every time I came in to inspect her work doesn't mean I'm going to ruin it...as she thinks I am. Just because I lept onto it and tore half the quilt down from the frame one night (I was checking to see if it was resilient...it didn't pass the test), doesn't mean I can't be trusted to continue to be in the room with her. Regardless of my banishment, I remain her boss and will pester at her doors to make her stop working...So, that actually makes me the boss...thus MY starting this blog.
I have great things planned for our times together...many thoughts and things I want to think on (thus the ponderings) and share. I hope that you'll join me on this journey with my human. I think it will be fun to follow what she's doing and learning...and I hope you'll enjoy what I tell you. I will try to make it interesting and informative...but remember...I'm a Queen Kitty and Sheriff of my house so you may be surprised at what you read or learn. I hope you'll join me when I have time to write.
Anyway, it's getting really late...or early...depending on what species' time schedule you're looking at. I think I'll look at the human's time for now...thus the getting "really late." So, for now, I'm off to sleep with my human.
Sleep well!
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