Shhhhh...... Secret Santa Squirrel!!

HO! HO! HO!
Lots of extra secret quilting activities this past month down on the Farm!!And...... it's all been business related!! Longarm quilting AND Custom Quilt Building!!
The custom quilts are super classified TOP SECRET SANTA SQUIRREL STUFF... so I cant show any pics till Dec 26th.
Through the magic of Facebook, I have been reconnecting with old classmates from Kindergarden to College. Two of these friends asked me to build custom quilts as Christmas gifts for their loved ones. This was pretty exciting because ; I had a personal connection to them as friends and I was adding to the list of items and goals I had intended to accomplish this year.
Big Fat Wooty!!!!
I CAN show some pics of a T-shirt quilt I quilted for a friends son who graduated from college this year and landed an awesome job in his field.
He is a major dude and a real character.
Unfortunately he is also a KISS fan.
This quilt also led me to implement a new policy for 2011.
Because I was around back in the late 70's and nothing has changed. I still dont like them.

..... with a bonus "Rudy"
It's the "No KISS T-Shirt " policy..because I can't deal with the instant "Ear Worm".
"Keep on Shoutin.. You keep on Shoutin!!! What!?""

GFG Raffle Quilt Ticket info!

REMEMBER THIS VINTAGE BEAUTY??
I just heard from the ladies in charge of the raffle and they have sent along this information . The quilt measures approx 95"X80"
It only TAKES ONE TO WIN!!
( complete info at bottom of page.. and Good Luck!)



QUILT RAFFLE TICKETS FOR SALE!!! $2 FOR ONE TICKET OR $5 FOR 3 TICKETS.
Send SASE and check made out to "Nativity Prayer Shawl Ministry" to :
Sue Leimbacher 6047 Old Porter Rd.Portage, IN 46368
Drawing is December 19th!

APQS SALE on Houston DEMO MODELS and BLISS SYSTEM!

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let me start off by saying I "drove " the Millennium with the new BLISS SYSTEM at the Chicago show this past Spring and was FLOORED. I MUST have this new upgrade. It's like driving a "hot knife through butter!!!"
So here's the DEAL on the Houston Demo Models SALE:
( ...before it hits the general QUILTING public)
A $500 fully-refundable deposit is required to secure a machine--and they are limited--so act fast. All customers must take possession of the machine before November 30, 2010, or the order will be canceled and deposit refunded. Machines are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Demo Millennium with Standard Table
Machine value is $20,000Customer gets
* Choice of 10, 12, or 14 foot table
* Full 8-year warranty
* $1,500 cash off
* Free Quilt Glide ($1250 value)
* Free Motorized Fabric Advance ($1350 value)
Customer pays only $15,900

Demo Freedom SR with Standard Table
Machine value is $19,400Customer gets
* Choice of 10, 12, or 14 foot table
* Full 8-year warranty
* $1,800 cash off
* Free Quilt Glide ($1250 value)
* Free Motorized Fabric Advance ($1350 value)
Customer pays only $15,000

Demo Lenni with Standard Table
Machine value is $10,900Customer gets
* Choice of 10 or 12 foot table
* Full 8-year warranty
* $1,000 cash off
Customer pays only $9,900

Any of these DEMO machines can be put on a Bliss table for an additional $1000
New Machines ordered at this time can also get the BLISS upgrade for the crazy sale price of 1000!!
CALL ME @ 219-575-4276 OR EMAIL ME... Fatquarterquiltfarm@yahoo.com to place a deposit to secure your DEMO machine.. or order a NEW ONE UPGRADED WITH BLISS for only $ 1000 extra!!
HAPPY QUILTING!!

Shipshewana Antique Fair 2010

Once again... I'm behind on my posting... it has a month since we we're actually there...but I wanted to share this years outing with "Blogland".

I love the sign..."Tourists" indeed!

Remeber when these were going for around $1 ?? ...Still always enjoyable to look at..

I believe my great grandmother wore a hat like this to my parents wedding..... I should have bought it and wore it to quilt guild... or at least w-mart!!

This vendor had a fabulous display of Vaseline Glass... and ws so gracious to let me take a few shots...divine!!

... and then there was this mini monster!! I totally missed the shot of him yawning... he was just a baby but what a character!!

Quilts!! This one was at the Antique mall..

No trip to Shipshe is complete withut a visit to see Rebecca Haarer and her drool-worthy selection of wares...... Sandy has thrown self control out the window..... haha

We wrapped up the day with a trip to the mini-burg of Emma , just a few miles out from Shipshe for some old fashioned hand dipped Ice Cream....
call it another BIG FAT DAY!!

My FAVORITE part......

This is a VINTAGE GFG ( GRANDMOTHERS FLOWER GARDEN ) that I just finished quilting for a Church Raffle.The church is in Portage Indiana and hopefully I will have more information next week as to where to purchase tickets!!( stay tuned!)
It had been hand pieced, was donated to the church and was in great condition.These vintage tops are always my favorite thing to quilt!
I had some trouble with top thread breakage, probably due to the amount of seams every where. This was maddening as I had puposefully used a heavier weight of thread (Aurifil 28) on the top, and quilting on almost every flower had to be restarted. (&*%@*&!!!)
Victory was mine when I actually completed a flower with out breakage . That was maybe a dozen of them!
One of the flowers had been constructed with 3 prints.... which was fun..

I always wonder about the piecer of these lost tops and would hope to believe she would have been pleased with the finished result
But it was too windy today for a leisurely photo shoot and I always like to take my time because more than likely I never ever get to see them again once they leave the farm.
Sometimes ...that is sad because sometimes... of course I want to keep them!
But then that would require a "Quilt Room" that is envoironmentally controlled and closed off to 4 cats that like to take turns barfing on stuff.
Which explains the polarfleece blanket on my bed at the moment.

Perfect Wedding Shennannigans

So here we are on the beach after the 2.5 minute ceremony.....there wasnt a lot of beach space that was workable so we had the ceremony up in the corner of the yard over looking the shorline.









My Brother in Law,Scott managed to score some extra happy meal items from the drive thru on their way up.... of course after I had pounded 2 Schlitz beers it seemed like a perfect photo op...











Whatever it was it was pretty damn funny ( again after 2 beers..)










Tailgate after ceremony ... it took me a Month(!) to get that beer..? go figure!!











Our interpretation of " American Gothic"... the Wedding Edition ...

Bridezilla countdown!

Hey!
True to form... it's been a while! The greenhouse gig has FINALLY ended for the season and I'm home longarming and reclaiming my much neglected living spaces.

We are off to Onekama,Michigan early Saturday morning to conclude what has been a verrry looong engagement.....( hello! 6 years!)
Initially the wedding was going to be a micro event.....with 2 other couples ( one of who was responsible for getting us togehter in the first place!)
When my Sister and Mom got wind of this .... they decided they were going to indeed "crash" this party and drag along my Dad and Bro-in law.
I's not that they werent invited.... this was just an opportunity to have a wedding "event".(.... our friends had rented this beach house for the week and invited us up for the weekend... and it just happened to be 4.5 hours away...)I was the one who added the wedding to the whole thing at the last minute( well sorta).
Of course I requested their approval prior.( uh YEAH how about a wedding during your LAKE VACATION?!?)
Really this was just an excuse to take the motorcycle on a much anticipated overnight trip...why not make it a combo platter??
2 birds,one stone.. in one weekend!!
My Mom was supposed to be coming to my house and watching over the farm zoo and quilting a quilt for a friend of hers on my Longarm while we were gone....
...and now that she is going to be up there for our wedding ..I had to enlist another backup zoo keeper in the form of my next door neighbor ( who's zoo I've watched many a time).
Naturally she is going to be out of town that weekend.. but her husband graciously volunteered.
So todays task is getting the inside dog quarters fit for public consumption.

This project is going to get a little.... ummm....HAIRY!

QUILTED AND FINISHED!!

... AND HERE IT IS!

Ten Long Years in the Making

Last week it hit me.
I was thinking about what project I would be taking to our Annual Winter Quilting retreat in Shipshewana......and I sighed to myself.
I had been dragging this quilt top with me every year since we started going...... and I was annoyed with myself and embarrassed that I still had not finished it.
Everyone else always has new and exciting projects finished and in progress to share when we go....and then theres me and my standard UFO.
Every two years our quilt guild has a show and I always think I'll have it done by then. Or the next show.
I was daydreaming at work looking at the show poster I had taped to my shelf at my desk.This years theme for our show is "Quilts in Bloom" and I had to smack myself upside my head. I thought "if I can't get this thing done for THIS show then I might as well stuff it into a giant ziploc and sell it at the guild flea market!"
And that was it! I was GOING TO GET IT DONE!!!!!( it's only been TEN YEARS..)
I headed to Jo-Anns after work to see what ric-rac they might have that would work with the leaves.... spent an evening auditioning different colors and the rest of the nights after work sewing them on. I was now ready to take this to our retreat,( again!) tape up a design wall, and start calculating how to sew the odd shaped blocks together. ( this started out as a pattern but soon morphed into a free for all with different types of base fabrics in linen and pique in various sizes)
This time this project was my ONLY FOCUS,... and I was a woman on a mission!
I knew if I didn't finish it THERE it wasn't going to happen because of all the quilts I still need to quilt for customers and my Mom in time for the Guild Show.
I'm left with sewing on ric rac for one of the leaves ( because I didnt have the thread color needed with me) and constructing the backing and binding....
oh, and QUILTING OF COURSE!
Fingers crossed!!!!!!!!!!

f"Hether"ed Heart Tote

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!
Here are some shots of the quilting I did for my friend Hether.
This was exciting because she requested a totebag for herself after seeing the one I did for Polly. Hether and I were roomates way back in the day at Ball State University. We didn't know each other when we started out as roomies but became fast friends after realizing we had a few things in common .
Come to find out just recently ( she confessed to a commentor on my FB page).. I guess I made her laugh so hard she would pee her pants?? Seriously. Who knew?
Hethers last name those days was " Hartzer" and she loved all things pink and hearts ( remember this was the mid 80's, people). When she requested one I knew just what to do: what colors to use and how to quilt it!
Unfortunately I did not get any shots of this constructed ( due to my haste in getting it to her by the Holidays) nor her modeling it, ( but I have requested some of those photos)



I've got a few more totes quilted and in various stages of pre-construction, and will post here in between quilting Mom quilts( and pics of those too) for the Spring Quilt Show....