Heart of Ohio Quilters Show

Ok, I'm back. Life has been so hectic I haven't blogged consistently. My apologies to anyone who reads this whoever you are.

The quilt show is 9 days away and my parts of it are basically done. In the last month, I have quilted five tops of my own for the show. I sewed the last sleeve on yesterday afternoon. Two of the quilts: Jeff's Journey, a trip around the world in red and black, and Watching over You, a black and gold wallhanging featuring angel fabric, will be donated to KidsNKamp after they hang in the show. Both are being donated in memory of my nephew, Jeff Buskey, who died this year from colon cancer. The third quilt is a block of the month from the 2008 NQA magazine that was completed with my friends in the BFG's. I should have called it the NQA BOM W/ the BFG's but instead it's the Bright Block of the Month. I do love the bright colors that contrast with the black sashing. Quilt number four is a thirties sampler, done in black and red thirties fabrics, and quilt number five is a mystery quilt called Baubles and Beads that I made two years ago. It's also in black and red. I am sure you see a theme developing here. I made all the binding at once as I just needed black for every one of the five quilts -- it took 1,426 inches of black binding, 36 strips of 2 1/2" fabric. I actually lowered the ironing board and sat to press the fold. But they're done and I can't wait to see them hanging in the show. They won't be the best there but that's not why I like to share my quilts. I like to let people see my view of quilting and hope they find some beauty there.

The other job I had for the quilt show this year was to do the Show Book which has ads, info about the Guild, and lists all the quilts with their makers, quilters, etc. My poor Publisher 2003 program and inexpensive printer practically had meltdowns as many of the ads sent to me for publication were too sophisticated, with embedded graphics and fonts. I was able to save it appropriately for the printer who is greatly appreciated and it will be ready for pick up on the 8th, set up day. Excellent!

I love participating in the Guild and it's activities but am backing off for a bit this next year-- More about that later. But for now, I am focusing on the Quilt Show.

Retirement Again?

Having been fortunate enough to retire from teaching at 52, I thought a bit this year about retiring from quilting as a business since I will be 65 this year.

On the pro side, closing the shop and retiring would give me more time to spend with grandchildren, more time to help out Joe with his appointments and rehab, more time to work on my own quilts and projects. It would keep my longarm machine from needing so much repair as I would just use it for my personal quilting.

On the con side, there would be no extra money to spend on retreats and fabric and other quilting goodies. And, yes, there would be more time to do housework but no excuses for not doing it. And I wouldn't be able to afford my studio so everything would have to go home to our small house.

So the cons win, and I will continue to work at my shop and quilt for other people. I will also continue to spend time with my grandchildren and my husband so my schedule at the shop will probably be less than the 36 hours I have been working.

The great thing about owning my own business, no matter how small, is being able to make my own decisions and my own hours, and to have fun with it. I think I would like to accomplish as much in the next twenty years as I have in the previous. Ergo, no retiring!

Power Naps!

I think the solution to all mankind's problems is that most of us are cranky from lack of sleep. I'll bet those people in countries which have planned siestas are much nicer to each other. Being a caffeine junky, I tried adding extra cups of coffee or iced tea in the afternoon, but it seems to have no effect on the mid afternoon droop and just makes it difficult to sleep at night.

If I could figure out a way to take a 15 minute to half hour nap about two o'clock in the afternoon, I would feel much better about everything. Of course, there's no room in my 400-square-foot shop to lie down, let alone nap, but I keep trying to figure it out. I am too old to put my head down on the table and rest (shades of grammar school in the 1950's), and not one more piece of furniture or equipment could fit in. I thought about a folding chaise lounge, but even folded up, it would be in the way. I suppose I could keep it in my van, and drag it in and out but that starts to seem ridiculous. I guess it depends on how desparate I am for that fifteen minutes of eyes closed.

I'm aware that if I do this, I will start to get phone calls and customer drop in's during that time. That could be embarassing--but maybe worth it. I am going to give it some serious thought, this afternoon, with my eyes closed--about 2 pm --don't call.

It's time.

Summer is ending and I feel as though I've accomplished nothing. I have many excuses - Joe's illness, my having to drive to Columbus for 3 weeks back and forth and then to Newark for two more, all his doctor appointments, etc. However, it's not really any one's fault but my own. I have had time to do most of the things that were on my to do list at the beginning of summer, but this lethargy just keeps eating away at me. Lots of good things going on now, including Joe's continuing recuperation, so it's time to just get in gear and do things! This pep talk didn't do any good last month, but I am hoping I will take it to heart now. It's time!

Just An Update!

Technology is not always my friend! The Gammil is up and running but the computer is down. The computer is working but the modem died. It's somewhat of a vicious cycle. As of right this moment, everything in my studio is working. It's a little scary wondering what will happen next.

I am currently working hard to quilt my own quilts for the Heart of Ohio Guild show in October as well as the customer quilts that have accumulated while Joe was recuperating. He is doing better but still not driving or back to regular activity. It amazes me how much longer it takes me to get out of the house in the morning just to get everything done before I leave. I literally changed my opening hours from 9:30 to 10 am because I couldn't get here on time. He is working hard on rehab and doing his share when he can.

It's always fun to quilt my own quilts. The first one done is "NQA BOM 2008 with the BFG's"--that stands for the National Quilt Association Block of the Month 2008 with the Bodacious Fabric Goddesses, my quilting friends who meet once a month at the shop. It's very bright and I used a variegated thread and did a simple meander. I found an amazing wild fabric to put on the back with all the bright colors from the quilt itself. When I went on the local shop hop, my goal was to find backings for three of the five quilts I am trying to get done. I found a great black and white print for my black and red mystery, a black with gold for my angel wallhanging, and the wild one for the BOM. For my trip around the world, I already have a varied gray backing, and have a SewBatik red for the 30's quilt sampler. You may have noticed a red and black theme -- it's definitely my colors.

Now to the binding! Every quilt I am doing for the show needs black binding. So I bought several yards of Kona black solid and am making yards of binding. I am hoping to finish them all by hand but the last one may end up getting finished by machine the night before the quilts are due. Hmm, back to work or I will be doing that for sure.

Justice

Recently a couple of off-duty cops were caught riding their motorcycles on I-70 at 150 mph and one was fined $300. I was drifting along on an empty stretch of Rte. 79 coming into Heath, Ohio, at 46 mph in a 35 mile section and my fine is $100. Also I was caught by the cameras that Heath has installed all along Rte. 79, it's main stretch of restaurants and businesses. I guess Heath is really needing money so they have created a speed trap. Apparently I didn't speed at all the month before when Heath was just sending out warnings, but waited to accelerate when the actual tickets would be issued. Since this ticket was dated July 1st, I'll bet I could get a few more when I was just going witht he flow of traffic.
I will not be driving Rte 79 anymore and maybe that's childish of me but really -$100--That's outrageous!

Sigh...

It has been almost three weeks since I have used my Gammil quilting machine --Just when I have time to get to the shop and quilt, it's in for repairs. During most of Joe's hospital stay, I worked on one custom quilt that I put on the day before he went in and took off when he was transferred to a nursing home in Newark. The next quilt never went on due to timing issues with stitching.

I have been keeping busy with other projects -- finished 30 year old blocks into a quilt for a customer, am putting the binding on another client's quilt, and have done a few things of my own.

But I am lusting to be quilting. There are times when quilting with my longarm becomes tedious, but after all, I have been doing this for 11 years. I have changed my style many times over and still enjoy many aspects of this creative job. A client sent me a note thanking me for quilting her top and saying that I put a lot of myself into every quilt. I think she's right in that those freehand quilts are my favorite. Still, even putting on an overall pantograph that complements the style of a top is satisfying.

I am hoping I will soon get a phone call saying my Gammil is ready to come home!