Work, work, work ...

That's all I ever do. But what fun work I have! Here's a sampling from yesterday:

Wanna see the back of it? Here:

This table runner is for the same customer. She had thought she'd quilt it by hand, so didn't leave any extra backing, and spray-basted her layers. It wasn't hard to pull apart, but mounting it on the frame for quilting was tricky. I think it came out okay:

Barn chores are finished, so after I have some breakfast, I'll be back at it. Ta-ta!

On opening day ...

Monday was opening day of rifle deer hunting season here in NE PA. I was busy quilting, but thought it was odd that there were no shots fired nearby. Usually I am startled half out of my skin several times when hunters fire a round not far away out in our woods. I glanced out the window, and here's who I saw:

Actually, there were four of them just outside the window most of the day, and nary a hunter to be seen.

Speaking of being scared out of skin, I just saw the funniest thing on TV. It was a prank being pulled on people in an elevator, one or two at a time. The elevator would stop, the lights went out, and when they came back on, a ghoulish little girl who looked like something from a horror movie was standing there (she entered thru a secret door while the lights were out). When the people in the elevator turned and saw her standing there, they screamed like crazy. Oh my ... it was soooo funny. I don't know about you, but if I were in an elevator that stopped and the lights went out, they wouldn't need to sneak a little ghoul in to make me scream my brains out!

I've been noticing a few trends in the quilting thing lately ...

No ... these are NOT my quilts. I just quilted them. But there's definitely a pink-and-green phase blowing through the area.

Another trend is toward the "pouffy" -- here's Carla's -- you might see the pouf better if you click to enlarge the photo:

Val was here last week and did a ginormous quilt with three (yes, THREE) layers of wool batting. Talk about pouf! She's coming back tomorrow to do another just like it. I will get a photo while she's here this time. Wait for it ...

Silly stuff ...

My new boots:

(Now hush up! They were 65 percent off, and I'll be wearing them to the barn!)

My new fabric:

(It was not on sale at ALL, and I have no clue what I'll do with it. I just HAD to get it -- to show Joey and the Grands.)

I'd better get crackin' -- the quilters are coming at 9:00 and I'm not ready. Whoosh! (Did you see that streak of lightnin' flash by? It was just me, putting it into high gear.)

I guess I'm just special ...

Mike Huckabee, Pat Boone, the governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer (and why don't we call her "the Governess"?), Mrs. Tom Smith and then their daughter -- was it Kim? -- oh, there've been so many calls I can't remember. I'm really sorry I missed the call from Paul Ryan -- I really wanted to chat with him. He didn't leave a callback number. Maybe he'll call again another day?

The antics the politicians go thru amuses me. If only they'd spend as much time and energy solving problems as they do campaigning for office! One thing I noticed is that Mr. Romney never looks tired, which amazes me. Have you seen the TV clips of the Obamas running to the microphone for their appearances? Are they trying to show that they have as much energy as Mitt? Michelle even looks like she's tearing toward the finish line in one of them. Gotta wonder what kind of vacation they're going to take after the election to recoup! Golfing in Hawaii, perhaps?

Melanie (Holly's friend) came back Sunday to quilt. It's her first, and no small task. It was 112 inches by ___??? (some big number) -- all batiks, including the backing. At random, she chose an all-over leafy design which turned out to be beginner's luck: turns out the pattern is quick to stitch out, so even though it was a very large quilt, she was finished and on her way by about 3:00. If you know Melanie's daughter, DON'T tell her you saw this here: it's going to be a surprise gift for her.

And now M is working on another surprise quilt for her son. Heh-heh ... she's hooked. Blame it on Holly.

Can you see the sinister grin on her face? Or is it just me?

Go ahead, make my day ...

If you've been trying to call me today and have not been able to get thru, I apologize for the continuous busy signal. It's been a marathon of phone calls all day! Imagine my astonishment first thing this morning when I got a call from Clint Eastwood! I'm afraid I was rather rude to him (I hung up on him mid-sentence to go finish my breakfast). It's not that I don't like Clint Eastwood, but unfortunately for him, I like my oatmeal even better at 7:00 a.m. I guess he didn't take it personally, because he called back later in the day. I was much more polite that time. I just can't figure out if he's getting senile, or what?!? He called back a THIRD time and just repeated himself. DH has always been a huge fan of that guy, so when he came home I asked him to speak to his buddy and just ask him to stop calling me here at home.

When the phone rang during dinner tonight, I told DH it was his turn to answer it. It was probably Clint calling again, and it would be a good chance to talk to him about calling me so much when my husband isn't home. Well ... THIS time it was Mitt Romney calling. DH got all puffed up when Mr. R addressed him by his first name.

Oh ... and you can just keep trying if you've been trying to reach me. But it may take another four days to get thru.

Sudden Nakedness ...

The trees are startlingly naked this morning. We came through last night having been spared the wrath of Sandy. Except for blowing all the remaining leaves and a few branches off the trees, and causing the power to flicker out a couple of times in the night, we were left unscathed. Thankfully. That storm has been devastating to many in other areas. Having lived many years along the NJ seashore, I know full well how terrifying a hurricane can be along the coast, and my heart goes out to people hit hard.

Sunday was a busy day for some quilters here. Holly is really cranking out the quilts ... and every time she brings one, she names another somebody who will be the recipient. This time, she FINALLY said, "This one is for me." It's a pattern that has become pretty popular around here -- they're making them like hotcakes, in all sizes and different kinds of fabrics and color choices. At retreat last winter, many were making them into heart-shaped wallhangings. Here's Holly's, made with a Christmas theme (many of the flannels incorporated here have holly prints, appropriately enough).

Melanie came with Holly and played with the Avante in the other room, but here she is, trying to scoot sideways to get out of the view of the camera when she realized I was about to snap the photo:

We were marveling about how smoothly the Minkie fabric Holly is using lays on the back. We've heard bad things about stretching possibilities, but as you can see, there was none of that going on and it made such a scoochie quilt for Holly's niece.

When I first met Melanie, she reminded me for all the world of Bonnie Hunter. (Being a new quilter, M didn't know who I was talking about, but quickly found out when I showed her BH's Shirttails ... book.

In and Out ...

I met Marcia last month at our quilt show. We made a plan for her to come and do some quilting here. She came yesterday -- made her way through the fog (and how unusual is that in late October?!?) -- and got started right away. We loaded her first project while giving her a "refresher" on HOW TO. By lunchtime she had that one finished.

After lunch, she loaded a larger quilt. When she pulled it out of the bag, it inspired a conversation about how much we both admire Bonnie Hunter ... and how DOES that woman get so much done ... and BH would probably LOVE this pattern ... Would you just look at that border?!?

Here's what Marcia accomplished by end of day:

5:15 pm -- and she's outta here.