Houston we have a problem

I stitched on The Razor's Edge shirt yesterday. The back and front are sewn together and I am treating it as a unit. I needed to nail down the design that would be the front of the shirt. It is that rubbery stuff and I had to quilt it one stitch at a time. The rubbery stuff would grab the thread and I was constantly stopping to untangle it. I have more to do on this, but this is what it looks like now.

I decided to work what would have been the back of the shirt. I needed a break from dealing with the rubbery stuff. I am happy with the progress I made on the devil character.

I played three movies while I stitched

For me Jane Eyre was confusing the way the movie jump back and forth between her childhood, teenage years, and the present. I wasn't impressed.
Ricki and the Flash was better than I thought it would be and kind of a cute movie. Would I watch it again - probably not.
Southpaw - Jake Gyllenhaal and Forest Whitaker were excellent in this movie. Yes, there was profanity and some rap music, the storyline was not totally original, but I thought the acting was excellent, the cinematography was very good, and the characters were believable and real.

I took a break about 6:30 then decided to get started on machine quilting the Harley t-shirt quilt. My machine was not sewing right. I was getting eyelash loops on the back and I couldn't figure out why. I had been having issues with my presser foot coming down and so I turned the machine on it's side to see if I could tell what the issue was. I cleaned out a bit of lint and tried sewing again. No luck - it was still messing up even after rethreading the top thread and the bobbin. Houston - I have a problem!!! I was so tired I almost threw in the towel. I got to looking at the tension - I don't know what you call those pieces you put the thread thru that controls the tension, but on closer inspection I saw an errant thread inside that area of the machine.

I managed to get the wad of thread out and the problem was solved! Thank goodness! Between last evening and this morning I managed to get 8.6% of the machine quilting done. How's that Glen? LOL!! I was just thinking I am sure glad I had taken the 4th of July weekend and got this quilt top made and pin basted.

I now have to jump back and forth between the two projects which I feel more comfortable doing since I am so close to getting the AC/DC quilt done.

I had to show you this flower planter. I think it is very odd looking. There are a bunch of these contraptions located in a neighboring town. They are painted different colors.

Weekend progress

I finished the Highway to Hell shirt

Before

After

The Blow up your Video is done

Before

After

What is left to do?
Started on The Razor's Edge. Have part of the border done and the date done.

I need to stitch the release dates on this shirt

I did work on this shirt a bit last night. I need to add just a bit more stitching to the flame area. It will be with a quilting stitch and not a backstitch.

This shirt has no stitching on it yet.

Then it will be on to adding the facing binding, rod pocket, and the patches and pins I have collected.

I did get an email from the Akron Art Prize people and it said that they would let everyone know on the 12th if their piece had been accepted. In previous years it was on a first come basis. I didn't know they changed this. I am going to be pretty sad if I don't get into the show after all this work and using vacation time to get this piece done.

Movies I watched while stitching

Martian - too far fetched
Creed - nothing like the intensity of the other Rocky movies. Too much rap music and a weak story line.
Against the Sun - a true story. I wanted to see a bit more at the end.
Notting Hill - an old favorite

I also have the first six seasons of Art:21. I have seen some of the artists, but some of the artists are just a bit too weird even for me!

Ok, so it seems like I am in pretty good shape to get the AC/DC piece done, but remember? I still have the Harley quilt to finish.

That comes to 8,232 square inches to machine quilt and 364 inches of binding to do. As Glenda of QuiltSwissy posted last week about me, I need to keep track of my percentage done for two reasons 1. so I can motivate myself that I am getting something done and 2. crunch the numbers to make sure I know what I need to get done on a daily basis to make my deadline. I will be taking half day vacations all week again which will give me 4 hours a day for machine quilting and 4 hours of hand stitching. Wish me luck because I am going to need it!

At least halfway done

Here is the shirt I am working on now.

I am at least halfway done with this one. I used the space above the Highway To Hell to put the date on. I marked it with tailors wax. The tailors wax will completely disappear with heat and steam. It does fade a bit with the heat from my hands too. This one will be done today. I need to finish quilting around the figures, stitch the date and border. I also did three loads of laundry and downloaded some CD's.

Yesterday's movies, Major League and Love Actually, were ones I had seen before, but I like them and it keeps my mind occupied. I have Creed and Notting Hill waiting for me at the library so that will be today's entertainment although the Indians play at noon today so I will have that on while I stitch.

Getting there!

I got another shirt done last evening. It took me longer than I thought, but then I always think I can stitch faster than humanly possible! It did take longer to stitch down the fiery area. Getting a needle thru that rubber like stuff is tough! Here is what the shirt look like before

and what it looks like done

The DVD's I watched while stitching: Punch Drunk Love - one really bad movie. I only got half way thru it. The Queen - it was ok, just a rehashing of what happened when Princess Diana died. Burnt with Bradley Cooper - not worth the watch. A ten year old could have written the story. A chef burns all his bridges with drugs and alcohol, cleans up his act, acts like a jerk, and gets his third Michelin star. People were way to forgiving to him to be believable.

I wish there was a Rambo or Rocky movie marathon on TV. I never get tired of those.

Here is the next shirt I will be stitching on.

I have 5.5 shirts left to stitch. Gosh, I am tired. It is amazing how exhausting sewing can be!

Plugging away

Here is a before of the shirt I worked on yesterday.

What did I get done with my extra hours yesterday afternoon and a bit of time this morning? I outlined the AC/DC in two different colors of turquoise and got about 2/3rd's of the border done.

With my half day vacation this afternoon I plan on finishing the border, adding the date, backstitch around the T.N.T. and doing some quick quilting around the dynamite and the flames. I know I can get this done today and get started on the next shirt. I will report tomorrow how many I have left to do.

Done and Done!

Yes, I got two shirts done this weekend. This shirt got complex because I needed to add the patches to represent the albums I couldn't get shirts for. I added the dates the albums were released and a detailed border.

The other finished shirt look like this before

and now it looks like this

Eighteen days to go - 6.5 shirts to finish. I will be working half days this week taking vacation so I have more time to work on this.

Friday Michael had a gig so I worked the merch booth

I was difficult to stitch - it was very warm and humid. I was busy at the booth too! I didn't get to bed until 12:10 a.m.

Here is the band before the show. They opened for Mark Farner who was the lead singer for Grand Funk Railroad.

Saturday I tried to keep focused so that I didn't feel bad about taking a break to go a graduation party for a couple hours. I ran out of a color of floss so I had to stop at Pat Catan's on my way home. Thank goodness they had the color I needed!

Sunday I was up early and stitching again. I took a break and mowed the front yard before it rained. Saturday and Sunday the Cleveland Indians kept me entertained while I stitched.

This morning I had a few extra minutes and I decided I needed to straighten up my floss a bit. I had it all over my big table and at the sewing machine where I do my stitching. I have no idea how I can make such a mess!

Now it looks like this

Much better!

Next!

Yesterday I had to run errands for work. On my way back to the office I heard strange noises coming from the back of the car. It sounded like the muffler was dragging, but I had it replace just a few years ago so I knew it wasn't that. I stopped a couple of times to try and figure out what was going on. I thought I would just head back to work and ask one of the fellow I work with what he thought. As I was heading back, the noise changed and then stopped. I looked in my rear view mirror and I had left something on the street. I stopped the car, walked back to the item, and picked it up.

The fellow at work said it was a heat shield and was no big deal. Whew!!!

Here is the next shirt I am working on.

Here is what it looks like now after 3 1/2 hours of stitching last night and about 15 minutes this morning.

I bet you will be glad when I can post about a new project! This one seems never ending!

I did go and buy gas for the mower, but the mower didn't make it out of the garage last evening. Maybe tonight.

I think I will be off work tomorrow for an extra day to stitch. I hope to make great progress. Have a great weekend!