Death by Quilt ~~ setup finished

Maybe it's impossible, but it seems that the 31 quilts we hung today took most of us out. Oddly, I didn't hang even one quilt. I started out giving orders--I'm so good at that--and getting people busy pricing  items to be for sale in our booth. 

Not MY booth...the guild's booth. There are lots and lots and lots of things. Some made by guild members, others donated by people who just wanted to help, and some that are vintage (patterns, magazines, books) all needing pricing.   

Then the quilt hanging system arrived, so there were lots of things to unload and get set up. Quilts had to be numbered and hung. Quilts needed sleeves. (Several of those were mine.) And someone had to clean up the ends of the poles so the place would look a bit more pulled together. I did that because by then the ladder-climbers were exhausted and I really felt sorry for them. I won't say I overcame my fear of ladders, but I got through the chore unscathed.

Demonstrations needed setting up. Tables covered. Chairs hauled and set up. (We still need chairs, but I told people to get on it. Adults who don't listen annoy me.) 

Porta potties were delivered and had to be placed. I had decided that earlier in the week, got permission to use a parking lot, and met the guy today to give him directions. I tell you, I rock at telling people what to do. 

There weren't enough quilts from other guild members, so a few of us who make several quilts a year were asked to bring extras. I agreed to take seven, if we didn't need them all, I could bring them back home. We used four. The other three and a few more that I'll take over there tomorrow will be the ones I'll present in my part of the trunk show. I've decide to focus on my being a modern quilter since I am more innovative than the other quilters in this guild. 

The four quilts shown here are the ones in the show and were judged along with the others tonight. Some of the other quilts are stunning. I hope to get a change to take pictures at some point during the day tomorrow. That is, after setting up the booth, after the trunk show, and while someone else is around to man my booth. My poor darling husband has agreed to help me through most of the day. So I'll get to tell him what to do, I am pretty good at it. :) 

Love to the Rescue

I've been helping a friend, Leta, with her tee shirt business.  She personalizes tee-shirts by adding letters for initials or Greek organizations.  Recently she sold a large order of 40+ tees with plenty of time to complete the order.  

Then the sorority doubled the order.  With only a little over a week to go.  Getting the shirts finished in time is doable, but it would require an insane schedule of sewing. Me to the rescue.  

Leta and I have been friends for a long, long time.  I've offered to help out before, and really meant it when I said I'd pitch in when possible. So when she asked me to help with the extra shirts, I readily agreed.

Then I tried to sew.  Oh my. No!  My wonderful, fabulous machine did not want to cooperate.  And on a time crunch!  What?

The knit wanted to roll up under the letters, which are glued down with Wonder-Under, so there was that mess.  And I couldn't seem to set the stitches just right to match the shirts she'd already made. It was getting pretty bad.

But then it got worse.  Richard stopped in to see how things were going.  Thirty  minutes into the venture, I was still struggling.  He's a perfectionist.  A real perfectionist.  He'd compare the stitches and suggest a fix.  

When I got the stitches right, he started touching them!  He was feeling for the depth of the stitches and insisted that my stitches were too thick.  Who does that?  This man.

So I got up and let him fix it.  After all, he had the fix in his head.  

He did.  He really does.  I can't believe that he CAN have the fix in his head.  It took a while, but he fixed the bulky stitch.  Now I get flat stitches with the exact width and length.  They match perfectly with the finished shirt that Leta gave me as a guide.

Now that Rich has rescued me, I can rescue Leta.

Sweet, annoying perfectionist husband.  He calls himself a problem solver.  Well, if you insist.


Gotta love him.

Don't know that I want to encourage him.

Cotton Quilters Guild Meeting

Our guild meeting on Monday was lots of fun this month in part because we had our ice cream social.  Talk about delicious!  But just as in the meeting we took care of business first, let's do that here as well.  

 Only a few people brought in something to show and share.  I think it's because it's so hot here that fewer people want to think quilts.  

I brought the two modern quilt tops that are ready for the long arm. I intended to bring in John David's baby quilt, but left it on the table in the house.  On a side note, I've finally delivered it and Lisa is thrilled with it.  

Google images

I wish I'd had the sense to snap a picture of the condiments table for the ice cream social.  These ladies know how to do it up right. For starters there were about six different flavors of ice cream: vanilla, butter pecan, rocky road, Italian creme cake, chocolate and sugar free for those who are diabetic.

Google images

Once your bowl was filled with a couple of scoops, you moseyed over to the second table and decided between pecans, chocolate chips, a variety of fruits, fudge, caramel, marshmallow creme, and other sauces, then sprinkles, raisins, cherries, coconut and candy.  

The table was filled with so many different toppings, it was difficult to choose. Well, so others said.  I went straight for the pecans and walnuts. 

Google images

I've had ice cream parties for my Betas, but we didn't do it this fancy!

After going through the line, we sat around in groups and visited, mostly talking quilting and family.  Everyone, of course, knows everyone and keeping up with each others' children and grandchildren takes time.

Google images

All in all, the meeting was fun, informal, and filling!  In other words, perfect for a July afternoon.