Thursday, November 6, 2014

Quilting and quilting

Last Friday was the annual fall open house for the Lifelong Learning College where adults of all ages can take classes to learn about pretty much anything imaginable - dancing, fencing, green-smoothie making, cooking, clay pot throwing, meditation, yoga, etc. The LLC slogan is: "No Tests. No Grades. No Pressure. Just Fun!"

The five-hour outdoor event was at the Spanish Springs town center, one of three town centers in The Villages. Instructors who participated sat at a table to talk to people about classes they'll be giving from January through June, 2015. With 257 instructors, more than 1,800 classes, and 90,000 catalogs printed for distribution, it's a big event! These people were lined-up, ready to register!

The morning was a mild, and I had a prime location in a sunny spot. The hours flew by as I talked to people interested in quilting, and former students interested in my new class to make a quilt using the Quick Curve Ruler. (To see all quilting classes, click the "Teaching and Presenting" tab above.) 

At home I've been practicing what I teach - Free Motion Quilting. FMQ is all that's been happening, and whoo-ee, I finished quilting the QuiltCon bias tape challenge quilt! That didn't happen without quite a bit of angst! 

The grease spots left by my walking foot sure gave me a few sleepless nights! But thanks to hexagon cover-ups, and a considerate friend, Diane, all traces are gone. Diane sat down next to me at Tuesday night's Quilting Guild of The Villages meeting, put this bottle in my hand, and related her near-miraculous stain removal story.  

When I got home, I dripped the clear liquid on two grease spots. In the morning, I dripped S-32 on the spots again. And then, later in the day... several times, ending with a very light rub. Would you believe that all evidence of grease is gone! This product is made by Gator Chemical Company of Largo, Florida. It's sold at Publix. Who would have guessed?!

Now the quilt needs a good rinse because of the spot cleaner, and blue wash-out marker marks. I'll give it special handling because of it's double-batt - poly and wool. Wool can be somewhat "shreddy," so to rinse this in the machine and keep the wool from fluffing everywhere, I folded the quilt backing to the front and hand-basted the edges.  

When the quilt is rinsed, spun, and dryer-tumbled for a few minutes, I'll lay it on the tile floor to block it. That involves a tape measurer, laser pointer, masking tape, and air drying for a couple days. Then I'll draw a straight edge guide around the quilt perimeter for sewing binding to the quilt.

It would be great to get that far along before our two Kansas City grandsons - Tay and Aesa - arrive this Sunday.

We're more than excited about taking care of them until next Friday, while their mom attends a conference in Orlando. We've rented a four-seater golf cart so we can go everywhere, and do everything, together. So many possible activities!

Earlier this week we received this photo. The family has a framed glass hanging on the wall onto which they write (it's erasable) "the darnedest things" their kids say. This one made us laugh out loud. We're wondering if Aesa will have the same mealtime expectations while he's at our house!

This picture was also sent to us this week. In Texas, our ten month-old grandson, showed his mom, "I can sleep anywhere." Too adorable. I just want to buss his cheek. 
Linda

13 comments:

  1. It looks like you picked the perfect place to live, and I'm happy that things are going so well for you and that you can share your talents with others. The quilt is marvelous and I'm happy you were able to remove the spot. Your quilting is an encouragment for me to keep on practicing! All your little boys are so adorable and I'm sure you'll have a great time with them. Luke is getting so big so quickly as they all do. Have fun and I hope to Skype with you soon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your bias quilt looks absolutely amazing and I'm so happy to hear the grease issue was pretty well resolved . . . or should I say dissolved. Love that last photo of your sweet grandson.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Can't wait to see the bias challenge, keeping my fingers crossed. So happy you're getting to spend time with your munchkins at your house. How special.

    ReplyDelete
  4. How amazing to have all these courses on your "door step" and it seems a lot of people are taking advantage. Were you able to recruit new students too? And have fun with your grand sons!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am so happy that you got that grease spot out because that is such a gorgeous quilt and the machine quilting is so amazing.
    Your grandsons are such sweetie's. What did we do before we had our grandson's they are so sweet.

    ReplyDelete
  6. So happy to hear that your spots came out. You have gorgeous grand children!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow!! It's gorgeous, Linda. I'm so glad you were able to treat those grease stains. I'll have to keep my eye out for that magic solution when I am in the southern states! I am so envious of your grandchildren. They are just too sweet.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The quilting on this quilt is amazingly beautiful. I love all the different patterns you used.
    I just looked at Amazon for S 32, and it has a 5-star rating across the board. Then I added my own.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Awesome quilting on your quilt. I so glad your friend had an answer to the grease dilemma. Here's to hoping you NEVER have to use it again! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am so happy the grease came out of your quilt! I might need to search that out, you never know.....

    ReplyDelete
  11. All those classes....how awesome! I love that the oil stains came out - I'll be looking for that product since I often get oil spots on my blouses when I'm cooking. blessings, marlene

    ReplyDelete
  12. Here you go again on another great quilting class! Your participants are so lucky to get you as their teacher, Linda! How exciting to have your quilt almost finished and that you found a product to take out the stains. So did you change your mind and not cover them with a hexagon? Enjoy those boys....I just had 3 little girls for 3 days this past week...so fun, but, boy, was I tired by the time it was over!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm so glad to hear you got the grease spots out.

    ReplyDelete

I reply to comments! If you are a no-reply commenter, or your profile appears as anonymous, I will reply to you directly on this blog post. Please check back!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin