Magic!

Most days, it is true, what I do is really play. It's fun. Today, it was more than fun. Today, a little magic happened in my sewing room. Here's the block:

That cotton eyelet lace is only stitched on one edge, to create the illusion of the cat peeking out. This one is for my friend Polly, who I suspect is very adept at the ambush manoeuver. I have to admit that Cassie doesn't see the point. And even though I made a slight miscalculation in the width of this block, it will all turn out OK. Have faith! It's not rocket science. It's just play.

This block is one of the smaller ones. It should print at 4inches x 8inches. It will have a 1/2inch border and a 1 1/2inch border. And then, for it to fit in the grand scheme of things, it needs to have a 2inch band added to each vertical edge.  Total block size: 8inches x 16inches. These are the finished numbers. If you're playing along, be sure to add seam allowances.

Yesterday's block printed at 8inches x 8inches. It had a one inch inner border and then a 3inch border. Total block size: 16inches square. Again.....seam allowances are not included in these numbers!

I almost forgot. Here's the link to get the template.

A Day in the Life

Ready to begin a new quilt? This one's feline-related, too. I had so many sketches for the Kitty Cookie Quilt that themes began to emerge. This quilt is all about what a cat gets up to in a day, and believe me! they get up to quite a lot. Let's start with breakfast.

Here's the line drawing:

And as usual, if you want to work along with me, you'll find the actual appliqué template here:

If you download the template, remember that it should print at 8 inches square, but you can do it any size you like. The fuzzy slippers are tricky, so don't bother to trace every single point. I know I didn't.

Warm and fuzzy

I dropped in on a friend this morning. It was one of those perfect spring mornings....all bright sunshine and blue skies. And the scene in my friend's kitchen was Norman Rockwell perfect. Beautiful kids standing on chairs, making cupcakes. I don't do portraits, but this is what it felt like:

Only the cat is made up. They really need a cat. :)

Calico Cats

... and Pupperoo Dogs!

The kitty cookie quilt is complete

The Kitty Cookie Quilt shall henceforth be known as April Showers. That is the theme that emerged. April showers bring May flowers, and all that. Cats and raindrops and lots and lots of flowers.

It did get a border, as you can see. The batting is lovely Warm and Natural which is (quelle surprise!) both warm and free from harsh chemicals.

The joining strips are from a piece of fabric I've had for a long time. In the mid-90s I was in a quilt shop when it caught my eye. Beautiful and VERY expensive at a time when we were quite poor. I was financing my quilting indulgence by teaching quilt classes and selling my own quilt pattern designs. In fact, I was in that shop, because I was meeting a writer who was interviewing me for a now-defunct Canadian quilting magazine. I bought an entire metre of that fabric, and I had no idea what I wanted to do with it. It just sang my name. It's called Winter Solstice. I don't think it's all that unusual for quilters to be able to tell you the provenance of the fabrics in a particular quilt. I chose the fabrics, because they spoke to me. Winter Solstice, with its muted teals and faintly tree-like images has been waiting for its moment all these years.

And I think I mentioned that the border print around this block came from a shop in Maui exactly 10 years ago. I loved the fabric when I saw it, and now, all these years later, it has good associations because of the family vacation we were on.

But this quilt has other connections for me. See this back? Almost all the fabrics (except the blue pieces) were donated by Arlene M. of the Gananoque & District Humane Society. She gave me these fabrics to use in this quilt, because the proceeds from its sale are going straight to the Lyndhurst Feral Cat Project for the benefit of the cats.

Here's what the front looks like, in full. A couple of the background fabrics are Arlene M's as well. The border fabric was donated in a circuitous way by  Mag M-H who had offered some fabric up online, and Susan H who saw the opportunity, and brought it to us. As they say, 'It takes a village!'.

So many people coming together to do something good!

But all this would be for nothing except that Arlene C stepped up to buy our little quilt! The circle's complete. We took an idea, some sketches, some fabric, thread, and a whole lotta love, and we turned it into cash to use for the cats. Thank you to all who helped along the way.

In search of the past

There used to be a bakery in Kingston, ON, in the '80s. National Bakery, I think it was called. They made an oatmeal turnover cookie with date filling. Fabulous! I've tried a couple of times over the years to duplicate them. This time I think I'm close. Of course, I had to try to make them a little feline, since everything goes better with a cat.

Helping the animals of Fort McMurray

My good friend (and fellow animal lover) Kate has written a great blog post about how we can help the animals of Fort McMurray.

Please go have a look, and if you're able, maybe make a donation.

https://artsandsocks.blogspot.ca/2016/05/help-for-fort-mcmurray.html

And finally...

The 12th block. Splish Splash reversed. Now, I just have to put them all together. Borders?

The kitty cookie quilt continues

If cats had rain gear, wouldn't they play in the rain?

You can find the template sheet here if you're working along with me. This is the last image of the quilt. The 11th of 12 blocks. We'll do this one reversed, and then, we'll be done!

Kitty Cookie Quilt - Drawing 6

The 6th and final cookie for the Kitty Cookie Quilt is Splish Splash. Dark chocolate shortbread cookies. So good!

Happy Birthday, Cassie!

Ten years ago today we brought Cassie home. TEN YEARS!! So, it's both her anniversary and her birthday.

She came from a rescue home that still has a web presence  but doesn't seem to be in business anymore. I'm not surprised. It must be a tough job rescuing cats and dogs. You must see a lot of bad stuff in that line of work.

We were told that Cassie was 6 when we got her. There's no real way to know for sure. She could be older. At 16, she's a senior. That's 80 in human years. Her hearing doesn't seem to be as good as it once was, but than, again, neither is mine.

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow's going to be a very special day in the Kingdom! Be sure to check back.....and here's a hint......Put on your party duds!