Back from class and learning to quilt again

The introduction to the judging process class was really an eye opener for me! As much as I love everything quilt related, I am not sure I would like to spend the next four or five years doing research, studying, writing what ends up being a 'quilt thesis' and attending far away National and International shows on my dime. I'm too old to start this journey, so sadly, I am not going to pursue it further. I learned many things I didn't know about judging and the whole thought process that goes into it, and have a more profound respect for the certified judges we do have. Its really too bad there isn't a logical progression to the advancement during the program years; like starting at local or small shows, then a wider state or large guild show, national shows and then the mother lode of the big international shows. The way it is now, after successfully finishing the program, the candidate is certified to judge on any level. I bet they are scared silly when they judge the first big show right out of the gate! Anyhoo, this girl is going to keep making quilts and have my little quilting business and leave the judging to the scholastically driven.
The first thing Mr Wazoo told me when I got home was that he had a quilt on and didn't know what pattern or thread to use. This man is an artist and should be able to pick a pattern and thread...it isn't rocket science! I was tired from the long drive from Winston-Salem and just wanted to kick off the shoes and have a glass of wine. He acquiesced and waited until this morning to begin the new project. In my absence, he quilted a darling kitty quilt for a customer.

The fussy cut kitties make this quilt special

Mr Wazoo did a great job on the cat's paw panto

You can really see it on the back.

This is the quilt that stymied the man...I mean,
pick a watery pattern and some aqua or sea foam colored thread and get on with it!
He did a wonderful job once he got going.

Panto: Ebb and Flow

While the male half of the business was busy quilting, I dove into the computer tutorial about setting up and stitching out a computerized pantograph. It was much more difficult than I thought, mostly because of my Windows aversion. It is like a foreign language, but I'll get it in the end. I don't give up easily. The easiest design that was also pleasing to look at was a repeated spiral. Once I figured out how to size them and link them together, I was ready to go. Keeping track of where the next row goes is really different than a paper panto, and required going to the computer for instruction more than once! Here is the finished product, a charity quilt from my sister. Thanks, Anne, for letting me experiment on your colorful quilt tops!

Someone will love this village of happy houses!

It may be simple, but it took me hours to do!
I could have freehanded this in 30 minutes...

But it is perfect...

I deserved a bit of fun time after finishing the computer work, so I sewed some more of the half square triangles for the quilt I am working on. It is so relaxing and rewarding, too. I am enjoying each 'round' of color and pulling from my stash to make the bits for the quilt. I think orange is next...

I like all but one bit...can you see it?
I'll either move the blocks around more or take apart the offending block and tone it down.

Molly doesn't care as long as she has a cushy place to nap and a window to look out of when she's frisky.