Jun 30, 2016: This quilt is back exactly the way I returned it 1.5 yrs ago but with fabric to repair the damaged sections. 95% of the problems are with the green fabric.
Jul 01: I am recommending Bottom Line #613 Sage thread & a simpler panto to minimize stress on the fabric this time. I have been analyzing just what needs to be fixed to get this quilt back to like new condition. Awaiting Dorothy's approval. 
Jul 02: Yes to Bottom Line thread. Dorothy has selected Zen Roses by Donna Kleinke for her panto. Yes to fix things as I think best. Dorothy asked me to do her binding & to find something that would work. Found a remnant & made the binding. 
Jul 03-05: Replaced the top row of blocks & redid the border. Planned a pillow cover.
Jul 06: Made & loaded a pillow cover.
Jul 07: Quilted the pillow cover. Prepped & loaded the quilt.
Jul 08: Quilting.
Jul 09: Ordered the pillow - PLY-a FIBER.
​Jul 11: Quilted. Squared. 
Jul 12: Made the pillow cover. Attached the binding.
Jul 13: Pillow insert is here & I have basted the end I will ladder stitch closed.
Jul 17: Binding finished. Pillow finished.

 Jan 10: Worked out the design with Dorothy Wonder.
Jan 11: Bought feature & some of the border fabrics.
Jan 12: Bought the rest of the border fabrics.
Jan 13: Dorothy wants Dream Wool batting . I will use Medium Blue Bottom Line thread.
Apr 26: Power was off today so I got this out and cut the center panel.
Apr 29: Cut all the borders & binding.
Apr 30: Don't have enough of the backing I was planning to use so thinking flannel. Dorothy will also select a pattern(s) (perhaps whole cloth) that will show up dramatically on the solid backing.
​May 03: Ordered two flannel backings. Back & forth with Dorothy on pattern layout ideas.
May 07 Backings are here.
May 11: Started programming some pattern ideas in IQ.
May 15: Worked out several plans including one I really like.
May 16: Dorothy likes it too. All the designs are by Donna Kleinke. Needs some work but at least we have a plan. 
May 18: Pre-washing the flannel backing--Mottled Royal Blue by A.E. Nathan (fabric.com).
​May 20: Programmed IQ.
May 22: Colored in the light blue to mimic the backing whole cloth effect.
May 24: Added the first border.
May 26: Finished piecing the quilt top.
May 27: Loaded.
May 28: I will be quilting a mirror image so it will appear as shown on the back. Getting the tension right on the grapes is proving to quite a challenge. Think I finally have it. Wow--38 minutes just to quilt the top border! Quilting underway.
May 29: Still quilting.
​May 30: Still quilting.
​May 31: Quilted. It's raining so pictures are a challenge. Dorothy will do the binding which I have ready for her to attach.

Nov 16: Quilt is here. This one is for a very special lady named Anna.  Warm & Plush batting.
Nov 17: Dorothy reminded me she wants to use the Christian Sketches by Ellen Munnich again.
Nov 22: EQ7 rendition & overlays leading to our plan. Magnifico #2173 Sandy Brown thread.
Nov 25: Started prepping.
Nov 26: Loaded. Quilting.
Nov 27: Quilted.

Aug 15: Quilt is here & I tried to takes pictures. Just to overcast to get anything decent. Selected Pixie pantograph by Patricia Ritter with Magnifico thread -- that should create some Pixie dust already in the sparkling fabric.
Aug 16: Thread selection.
Aug 17: Prepped & loaded.
Aug 18: Testing
Aug 19: Quilted.

Dec 30: I used EQ7 to add a few borders this very colorful panel.
Jan 01: Rudy is helping with color selections.
Jan 02: We've decided to use Kona Cotton Royal & Malibu (as used in the star quilts). The red is Kona Cotton Cardinal I have on hand. The tan flannel is a remnant from Joan's Lodge Quilt. Blue fabrics are ordered.
Jan 03: Cut tan & red strips, sewed red border to panel, pieced the backing, made the binding.
Jan 07: Thread: Bottom Line Silver. Batting: wool. 
             Made a schedule. HA HA HA! No way, Jose! I mean, Rudy.
Jan 08: Pre-washing & pressing fabrics. Rudy & I changed the plan...again.
Jan 11: Cut borders.
Jan 17: Rudy cancelled this project. Batting & panto are flexible choices.
Jan 18: Dorothy took over ownership of this project. Ordered new backing.
Jan 24: The new backing is here. Will use Animal Crackers panto. Since the wool batting is already cut, we will use it. Still need to pick a thread.
Feb 05: Pieced most of the top. Still need to do top & bottom blue borders & piece the backing.
Feb 07: Finished piecing the top & the backing. Backing needed a leader on one end. Made two bindings I will send to Dorothy--red & curry.
Mar 17: Quilted.

Dec 31: Rudy bought these fabrics today & had them shipped here. We are going to use the pea pod print as a border on the front and for the backing & binding.
Jan 01: Made a slight change & ordered a tad of pink fabric with yellow stars to do it.
Jan 04: Fabric is here. The striped border is pinker than shown on the website which is good. Actually the whole panel is pinker. Very nice!
Jan 07: Pieced the top. Made the binding. Didn't have enough backing so ordered more fabric.
             Thread: So Fine! #520 Barely Peach. Batting: wool. 
             Made a schedule. HA HA HA! No way, Jose! I mean, Rudy.
Jan 12: Extra backing material is here with a nice note from the vendor.
Jan 17: Rudy cancelled this project. Batting & panto are flexible choices.
Jan 18: Dorothy took over ownership of this project. Only changed the pantograph. Since the wool batting is already cut, we will use it. Bobbins are wound & ready.
Jan 28: Bought Baby Bunny Panto.
Jan 29: Loaded.
Jan 30: Quilted.

Nov 04: Dorothy swapped this quilt in her personal queue for one she has been planning even longer.
Nov 18: Started this post when Dorothy described her panel & I found it online. Love the innocence. Dorothy & I have each other smilin'. 
    At the rate Dorothy is going, the recipient baby might be an old man...ahh, but I know the behind the scenes story. Life has been a wild ride lately to put it mildly.So glad she has this creative outlet to keep her sane. And so glad I finally get a glimpse of what's she been up to for so long.
Nov 19: After searching the better part of 17 websites, I found the perfect Stitch Happy! panto complete with bow ties. (Yes, there is a version without bow ties.).
Nov 22: Expecting the quilt Thanksgiving Eve.
Nov 26: Quilt is here with its navy flannel backing.
Dec 10: Decided to use a grey/blue thread to match inner border & contrast with the navy flannel backing.
Dec 15: Prepped, loaded, quilting ... quilted.

April in Paris by Dorothy Wonder.

May 10: Quilt is here. I will do the binding for Dorothy on this one.
May 12: This one needs super quick turnaround for a wedding. Not really, but that is what I hope to do for Dorothy. For thread, we will use Silver on top and Statue on back. If there is any show through, I'll use silver on back too. Both threads should blend in nicely.
May 15: Prepped
May 18: Loading. Quilting. Quilted.
May 19: Binding is attached.
May 22: Bound.

I'll be piecing & longarming this quilt for Dorothy Wonder using the Yellow Brick Road pattern. She is sending the skins fabrics. I'll do the rest including shopping for suitable borders.

Oct 11: Got a call this morning from Dorothy to help her with this project. She is swapped & I have a lot of free time. Until her fat quarters get here, I am working on EQ7 to draw the quilt. I've gone about as far as I can for now. Double borders 2" & 5" makes a 77 x 95 quilt. As I play with the colors, it seems to me that the inner border needs to be a subtle transition, either a medium shade or a blender or simple print of some kind, to ease out from the skins to a solid or another muted blender. No inner border is too abrupt. An inner border that pops it, poops it too. The fabrics here are so dynamic so let the borders tame the wildness. We will see what Dorothy sees. I love talking over quilt layouts with her & always ask her to critique my quilts. Ha! She agrees.
Oct 12: Used some software called Quilter's Lightbox for the first time to audition pattern & thread options. This tool might help us get closer to the thread color we want before I go pull specific spools.
Oct 15: Fat quarters are here. Added real fabrics & re-did the layouts.Oct 16: Added some almost solids to the mix to have enough fat quarters to make a larger quilt. 14 skin fat quarters, 6 more or less solid blenders & one black-brown print.
Oct 16: Going/gone to Greensboro to look for border fabrics. Very successful trip.
Oct 18: Cutting & piecing.
Oct 19: Finished the cutting. The blocks are together. Finished the layout & started on the rows.
Oct 20: I have a panto designer lined up--Ellen Munnich. The main part of the top is ready. Just needs borders.
Oct 21: Restricted by the backing which is 84 x 96, I can add 2" + 3" borders or just one 5" border. Either way the top will be 73 x 91. Dorothy says 2" plus 3". I have contacted Ellen Munnich about doing a special panto for this quilt. She has agreed but I have to wait until mid-November.
Oct 31: Pieced the backing & inner border. Double checking how much backing I have now that it is pieced before cutting the outer border.
Nov 05: While pressing and squaring the backing, I realized the quality was just not there. I'll get more of one of the "solid" fabrics used in the top for the backing. Brown marble was available.
Nov 13: Contacted Ellen Munnich about our panto. She says it will be in the next batch. Not sure what that means but it had better be quick...time is running out.
Nov 16: Picked up the backing fabric.
Nov 22: Ellen Munnich did the panto today. My idea was profiles of animals represented by the skins. Ellen suggested Zany Swirls & I countered with using that type of connector between the profiles. She was concerned that including a giraffe would be hard to fit everything together. I left the details with her. Several hours later, she sent me her sketch.  I am trilled with what she did. After all that--spending most of her day focused on it--she wasn't even going to charge me. Thanks so very much, Ellen. When I get the panto today, I'll be ready to load Dorothy's quilt.
Nov 23: Outer border is pieced and thus the top is finished. Now the backing--also pieced & ready to load. Batting is cut. IQ is programmed. Thought about using a variegated but found the perfect So Fine! brown instead. Having to wind bobbins to get a perfect match. Have 5 ready to go. Wanted to get a lot more done, but HEY!, my hair cut looks great. Well, it does -- kudos to Lowell! My ultimate goal is to ship on Monday.
Nov 24: Loading. Loaded. Quilting. Very hard to photograph but I'm trying. The back should should show up nicely.
Nov 25: Quilting along making nice progress when ... a tension problem has me taking out a row. Since the thread is too loose, it shouldn't be too hard to do or take too long...just long enough that I won't get this in the mail today. And so it goes. Well, it wasn't hard but it did take a very long time nonetheless. All set to start again tomorrow & hopefully beat the nasty weather.
Nov 26: Quilting ... Quilted ... Shipped. On a rainy day, I couldn't get the picture I wanted of the back. Also the marble effect obscured the quilting more than I thought it would. Still learning after all these years.

WOW!
The rich fabrics in this Take 5 quilt are so stunning, so regal yet equally soft & inviting. Perfect contrasts.

A winner!

Aug 24: The quilt arrived. The fabric samples Dorothy sent some time ago do not do it justice but I can use them to test thread colors. She decided on Cardinals in the Pines while still piecing. Setting up.
Aug 25: Finished setup process. Quilting. Every photo has a different coloring so let me just say this quilt is very dark except for the cream & tan.

I do believe these fabrics are from Moda's Christmas Spirit collection. The fabric is a brushed cotton with a flannel feel to it.
I love the warmth of this quilt, not just from the flannel on top and back & the thick cotton batting we will use, but the color choices which will show up better when I snap close-ups while quilting.

Jul 22: First contact about this quilt
Aug 03: Quilt arrived. We'll be using Dream Cotton batting and reusing the Christian Series pantographs by Ellen Munnich. Thread to be determined. Originally we thought cream but I am not so sure now.
Aug 04: Loaded. Working on IQ layout.
Aug 05: Started the day early with a false start. Knowing Dorothy wanted the thread to show I stopped for her to consider other options. I am posting one image of the original choice. The rest of the images are the final choice. Hmmm, the new selection has a sheen but it still gets buried deep into fabric so there is little showiness. Quilted. Will take final pictures & ship tomorrow.

Dorothy made this quilt for her daughter who was entangled in a cult for many years. She is free now and has been healing the damage over the past year.

Mother and daughter were at long last reunited in January 2013. This is her welcome home quilt. And her birthday present.

Jan 25: Dorothy found the pantos she wanted to use.
Feb 17: I proposed one arrangement of a panto of pantos
Feb 25: Started working on thread selection based on fabric samples I received.
Mar 06: Quilt arrived
Mar 07: Taking a moment to catch up & post some photos. More thread selection efforts. We need help unable to make a decision. As things always have a way of working out, I received a spool of high sheen Magnifico thread just the right shade of blue for this quilt.
Apr 01: The backing is here.
Apr 04: This is now a birthday quilt for later this month. Heidi has graciously chosen to give up her spot in the queue so this can happen. Dorothy is taking a last look at the design where I flip the row horizontally, giving it a more balanced rather than haphazard look. IQ is programmed. Thread & tension are all set. Quilt is loaded. We are using Dream Puff batting for extra warmth. The loft of this batting will also accent the stitching.
Apr 06: Basted. Quilting. Four rows done.
Apr 07: Only basted the next row.
Apr 08: Finished and out of here too! I have to say to Dorothy, "You had quite the vision on this one. Very nice design. Impeccable piecing. A joy to quilt." Sunshine breaking through the darkness comes to mind.

When a voice mail request came in from Connie Steinmetz for a UT quilt start to finish & the price tag did not scare her away, I started thinking who could help. My usual suspects are swamped. Then I knew! I grew up in Tennessee; Dorothy lives in Tennessee; Connie lives in Nashville. So two Tennesseans quilters have volunteered to get crackin' to make a special Christmas present from a TN mom to give her UT daughter.

Nov 20: Got the call. She found me via Joan Taylor's UT quilt posted on this blog.
Nov 21: Dorothy got the fabric. I mailed the pattern--Take 5 by Teacher's Pet--and did an EQ7 rendition with various orange, black and white fabrics. After her day long shopping expedition, I plugged in the real fabrics Dorothy selected (except for the white on black).
Nov 23: Changed black & white fabric. The layout will no doubt change too when Dorothy pieces this. Just showing the process with all its twists and turns and possibilities.
Nov 28: Dorothy tells me she is being plagued with my all too frequent unforeseeable circumstances. Her first choice for white on black fabric made her dizzy. Back to the store, she selected her second white on black. When she started working with it to cut it, she noticed flaws, not in one spot but throughout. Back the store, the whole bolt was that way & of course there wasn't another white on black in the shop that would do. Off to another store, she found the perfect fabric. I can't find it online to post an image but understand it is something like the IQ pattern called Flirtatious. So that remains a surprise for all of us until it gets here.
Nov 29: Read Dorothy's comment. Yeah!
Nov 30: Dorothy is planning to ship this here next week. Need IQ pattern. Any ideas? Connie, I would love for you to pick it out. Call me and I'll guide you through how to do it.
Dec 03: Read Dorothy's comment. The quilt is on the way & Connie is searching this site and others for an IQ pattern she likes. She chose Janet's Swirl Pano 001 by Kim Diamond to which I made a slight change.
Dec 11: Dorothy shipped on Monday the 3rd. USPS routed the quilt through Denver. It arrived safely today. I have been working on two options for IQ patterns, one the Swirls Connie found & one with paisley by the the same designer, Kim Diamond. Kim does a lot of very dense designs. I spent the evening working out a way to use her design without the extreme density. I split the design across two rows so I could enlarge the quilting area. Connie has once again chosen the swirls ("I’m just not a flower girl..." - LOL) & I agree with her. Just had to pursue all options first.
Dec 13: Loading. Quilting. Quilted.
Dec 14: More photos. Boxed. Shipped back to Dorothy for binding.
Dec 15: Dorothy has received the quilt.
Dec 20: Dorothy hand delivered the quilt to Nancy as planned. No pictures of the final quilt with binding...oh well.

Oct 31: Quilt top arrived. Backing is coming soon.
Nov 13: Pink flannel backing is here.
Nov 14: IQ programmed. Dorothy decided on the dense side of medium for this quilt, softening it with Quilter's Dream Deluxe cotton batting. Everything is prepped, loaded & ready to baste. Another nuance is a Scripture quote Dorothy incorporated into the backing loaded so it is centered on the right side of the quilt. I hope I got that right, pun intended too.
Nov 15: Quilting.
Nov 16: Quilted & shipped.

Today this quilt top that Dorothy has been planning and working on since early May finally arrived. She purchased the angel blocks that will fill-in the outer border. All that is left is to decide whether to outline the angels in one or two lines and whether to fill-in between the blocks with the same small angel panto I will use for the center of the quilt. Without printing 12 angel blocks, I am trying to give an idea below of how it might look.

This quilt is going to Dorothy's son's wife, Anne, who loves to decorate her church for Christmas.

July 11: Quilt top arrived. If you think matching a red and white thread is easy, think again.
July 12: Finalized the IQ pattern.
July 19: Backing arrived. It is loaded. Changed the thread and reset the tension. Everything is now loaded.
July 21: Quilting. I find it interesting how the photos come out different shades. I finished quilting this as planned BUT it needs more. As I was working on the last row, Dorothy & I were talking about how the space could be filled in around the angels. It is just too floppy like it is. We started brain storming. Clouds like under the angels? Stars? Did a quick sketch (below) to illustrate & Dorothy liked the idea. Have two quilts lined up the next two days so on Tuesday I will reload this quilt and complete it by adding lots of white stars of various sizes.
July 22: Added a few pictures showing why stars are sorely needed.
July 23: Took and added pictures of the back of the quilt before adding the stars.
July 26: Started programming the stars into IQ pattern.
July 27-29: Kept adding stars to the design work I thought it would work.
July 30: Prepared the quilt & reloaded it. Started quilting the stars. Not dense enough.
July 31: Finalized the plan at 3:00 AM. Very intensive & time consuming work creating what I am now calling the free style stars. Each one was drawn, sized, rotated & spaced just so. The goal was to create a density similar to the center panto. Along the way, I learned the technique for carving out no-sew areas, a skill that will come in very handy even though I will not use it on this quilt.
Aug 01: Did enough to know the stars will work now and then removed the trapped thread.
Aug 02: APQS gave me the tip I needed to make finishing this project much more pleasant. When ever my machine stopped, the bobbin thread was breaking. I had to remove the bobbin case from underneath the machine, pull the bobbin thread out some or completely re-thread it, re-insert the bobbin case & bobbin back under the table & continue. After every star, this was just toooo much aggravation. Now it just stops, a tap on the screen moves the needle to the star & a final tap starts stitching again. I go back clip the threads between the stars but will leave the ones on the back for Dorothy to clip. Seems fair to me!! Now if I just don't run out of thread.
  I don't get defeated easily but I am stopping on this quilt for now. For one, I don't think I have enough thread so I have some on order. For two, Dorothy is going to be out of town for about a week so I can't mail the quilt even if I finish. For three, a week of dealing with just the stars on this quilt is enough for now. For four, the quilt will not be needed until November. So I am taking a break, unloading the quilt & going on to something else for now. So much for intentions...
Aug 03: Finished row 2 and going on to row 3 and as far as I can before unloading. Just needed some sleep. Finished row three but before I did the needle jammed in the quilt. Fortunately no damage was done to the quilt & I just happened to be close enough to the power box to be able to cut it off with my foot while holding the machine steady. Whew! Never ask what else could happen. Finished row 4 without excessive difficulty.
Aug 04: Finished row 5 and started row 6. Will the thread last? YES! FINISHED!! Posted 3 before & after stars collages. Was it worth all the work? YES, every quilt needs what it needs. Perhaps not by hand but still one stitch at a time. In this case, one star at a time until all 326 were in place. Anne, enjoy it & may it bring joy to many this Christmas and for many to come.

What you didn't know before...I will quilt stars any day for Dorothy's cookies!

Oh, that is a glass cutting board.

A 3rd baby bear is under the Pyrex bowl--the better to keep all the cookies
for myself.

It I sound a little intense when you call,
it is the espresso powder in the cookies.

Dorothy Wonder has been working on an angel prayer quilt. Even though it isn't here yet & I haven't seen it of course, I have already worked up an EQ7 rendition based on her specs and toyed with the IQ layout that includes 4 Musical Angel blocks and a Small Angel pantograph. The center of the quilt is a prayer panel. The stitching on the angel blocks will match the Crimson on Black fabric in the borders.

The image here is a concoction of EQ7 and a lot of cutting and pasting overlays using Paint.

I am looking forward to seeing the real quilt top & the finished work.

May 08: Dorothy purchased the Musical Angel blocks to use on this quilt.
May 30: Did the EQ7 renditions based on Dorothy's specs and added the overlays in Paint.
June 22: Stitched a sample of the background panto and one of he angel blocks using several threads to give Dorothy a better idea of who this will look while she finishes her quilt top.

Dorothy Wonder has created a truly beautiful quilt with colors as soothing as the Scripture quote appliqués. She is from my childhood state of Tennessee. A perfectionist, I really look forward to doing this quilt for her.
Apr 01: Tossed around some IQ design ideas. Must credit Joan with finding this Wrought Iron pattern by Jodi Beamish of Willow Leaf Studio in Canada.
Apr 02: Putting the ideas in IQ to see if they are feasible.
Apr 12: Loaded.
Apr 13: Quilted. It was very enjoyable doing this quilt. Impeccable piecing, Dorothy. Well done.