Little Mariachi Band

I got a request to make a Day of the Dead Mariachi Band. I finally got started. One will have a horn, one a guitar, and one a drum.

Binding

It's slow catching up but while listening to Christmas music this afternoon, I got the binding on my first quilt I longarmed on Leonidas. I had this fabric for a long time and started a design I saw in a quilt store. I ran out of fabric and knew I would probably have to go online to see if I could get more. That didn't happen. Then my mom sent me some of her fabric and guess what was in the pile? More of what I was using. Still not enough to make a throw, so I put in the red rectangles. It works for me. Finished size is 36" x 52".

Birdie Quilt

Here's a quilt I've been working on for years. It started as an applique project. We were given a color for the month and had to make the bird pattern. Then we, the students, would switch birds to each other. Here's what I had in a pile, in a corner, in a bag. Some of you will get that reference. I have to put the border on and will then be able to sandwich it and put it on Leonidas.

Something Else That's New

Well, not too new. Ever since I was a little kid, I've always wanted a dollhouse. Not a Barbie dollhouse, but a real miniature dollhouse. I think I bought one when I was a teenager, not knowing anything about dollhouses and it never got put together. Why? It was big and complicated. I looked at the directions and put them back into the box. I think the thing is still in my mom's attic. Maybe one day I will rescue it.

I have a wonderful friend Kim, who lives in the wilds of 'up north' and she likes minis too. I told her my dilemma and she was special enough to get me a room box. I cried when I got a package in the mail. She said to start off small. Yeah, looking back on things, that's probably what I should have done. So I'm starting  my first mini piece. It took me awhile before I opened the box. Then another month or so before I pulled out the instructions and made sure I had all the pieces. Then another couple of months before I decided that I was going to just do it.

That was a challenge. I thought I knew what I was doing. I'd read the instructions, had what I needed to put it together. Yep... Ha! It was like watching an Abbott & Costello movie with Lucy thrown in for good measure. I learned to do one side of the room at a time. Using books and anything else heavy to keep it in place until it dried. Did I ever mention that I'm not very patient when it comes to things drying? Yeah. And of course I had to put one wall on the wrong way. That's why you should be glad that things don't dry right away.

Now I have to figure out what to do next. I did order some wallpaper and wood flooring. A window and door. I think I want it to be a room for a writer. We shall see.

A New Month!

Here we go! A new day in a new month, the last month of the year. Can we say 2014 flew by? I think it did. I’m glad most of it is a blur, a bad one at that. Now it’s time to pull up the big girl pants and forge ahead. I have quilts I am personally working on, waiting for my jobs, getting creative again, and I've a Christmas commission to do. I’m looking forward to doing the commission. It’s been a long time since I’ve done one. Let’s see if I can make up some the the creative stuff I’ve missed out on for the year. It’s going to be a busy December. And that’s okay.
I’m working on my quilt blog. Wanting it, at least, set up today. Until then, here’s a picture of my longarm machine. I’ve named him Leonidas from The 300 movie. I wanted a name that showed a dedicated and hard worker. Dependable. Take no prisoners. Thus, I have blessed it so.

I practiced with three small quilts. One of mine and two made by my mom.
This one is mine. You can see the layering of the final piece. The quilt top I pieced, the white batting, and the red backing fabric.

Close ups of my quilt. The top and the back.

Close up of my mom’s scrappy quilt with a different pantograph pattern.

I’m also still scaling back on the stuff in my apartment. That will be an ongoing process but I’m feeling better about it. I will be making some scrappy quilts of my own so that I can creatively get rid of scraps and fabric I know I will never use. They may or may not be for sell. We’ll see. So get your December on. The year isn’t over yet.

I'm Back!

It has been a long time since I last blogged. 2014 has been a very strange year and I'm glad it's almost over. This was the first year since the first year I moved to North Carolina, that I didn't create much of anything. And that's very sad. Very, very sad. I'm also still dealing with health issues and once again, car issues but I won't allow those things to deter me any longer. Because I hadn't been creating, I haven't been selling anything. Not very good for the coffers. The mental health started to go downhill because I didn't know what to do. So I stepped back, reevaluated things and decided to take a different direction. Sometimes you just have to do that. Seeing that office type jobs are not my forte (I like playing on my own playground), I had to think of something that would bring in a steady income.

I decided that I would try my hand at longarm quilting. I had thought about it years ago but was a bit chicken about the whole thing. Of course, I was seeing work by people who have been doing it for years and not thinking as a beginner who would have a learning curve. I have taken quilt making (piecing) classes and applique classes, so I know how quilts go together. The next thing to do was to research machines. I found a really nice machine representative who works for APQS. She helped me find a used machine and then I had to set up a business. Good grief. It was one thing after another. Many trips back and forth to downtown, filling out paperwork, not having what one person said I should have. I would get that information, take it back and another person would say I needed something else. I was about to lose my mind but have been so grateful and blessed to have a very special friend who helped me through the last bit of the setting up a business process. It was nice seeing the business license with the business name on it. It was nice getting my first batch of business cards. It was nice when I finally got the machine and it was set up. It was nice having my first class on the longarm, sew my first three sample quilts. It was not nice getting my first business bill before I even got the first quilt on the frame but it was nice to have my first paying job. It's all a process and I'm still learning.

This new venture will enable me to live and still make dolls and figures, and write. I will be starting a new blog just for the quilting and get back to posting on a regular basis.

Oh, my new business name is Wendy B Quilts. Because it will be all about quilts. See ya soon.

It’s Me Again

Yep… once again behind schedule but that’s okay. This is going to be a kicking month. I will make it so. I have a art/craft show next month and I am getting busy. First on the docket, it’s for me, are three pairs of easy shorts. Now that it’s summer, I usually wear shorts in the apartment. I had a pair that used to be pants. Wore them as pants for about a year, then cut them off and wore them as shorts. I would only wear them out to go down to the mailbox or out to take trash. Well one day, I reach behind and felt a hole. No problem, I can fix that. Took them off and oh- my- gosh! It wasn’t just a hole, it was a gaping hole that exposed a good portion of my backside. YIKES! How long had it been that big? Who else saw it? What kind of underwear did I have on? I was embarrassed for a minute. Ha! Then I started laughing. So I go through my fabric, as I don’t have a stash, and I found enough to make three pairs of easy shorts to wear around the apartment while I work. Here’s the fabric.

I’ve re-fluffed the stuffing from the large doll legs and made up a boot pattern. I’m ready to sew the new legs and re-stuff.

I started to repaint the small prim dollie faces. I don’t know exactly what they will be. Witches or voodoo ladies or zombie types, don’t know. I will work on it. My latest Gail Wilson doll has been repainted and antiqued. Pics later. I’m working on her dress and when I get it done I will dye her whole wardrobe along with fabric for the small prims. My scarecrows need to be painted too (everybody has been giving me dirty looks) and they need shirts. So, I guess I better get going.