Two in a Row

 Here is Tula block number two.  My approach to this was to take a set of Ruby Star Society fabric and then grab stuff out of my stash that can be in the same room without offending anyone.  In this case, the Ruby Star fabric is the pink and teal with black in the first row of the log cabin. I now have a bin that holds the fabric to pick from. At this point, I'm not trying to go in any color direction, I just want to make fun blocks. (Remember this when I complain later that the blocks are not going together well and I need to make new blocks or a different quilt.)

Here is another quilt from the Clark County 2026 quilt show. This is Solarium by Linda Burrell. This is one of my favorites from the show...such a nice selection of colors and the background sits nicely behind the stars without being too subdued.

This quilt, Wonderbirds by Ada Levins, was one of the funniest. When I first looked at it I couldn't figure out how the birds were sewn on...they look like AI/photoshop floating in front of the pieced quilt...and then bingo my brain saw the panel that was source of the pieced one block wonders surrounding it. Cutting up six panels of birds must have gotten a bit loud and gruesome. 

Reentry

 This is the first block in Tula Pink's book of 100 modern blocks. I was reminded of this potential project when I saw Anne Gillihan's micro version of the quilt at the Clark County Quiltfest. In an attempt to prevent another long lapse in posting, I am going to be making and showing a new Tula block every day for 100 days ( or until I don't...probably...)

I have shown this quilt on this blog before from an earlier Clark County show, but this year Anne Gillihan was the featured artist...I mean...the astounding featured artist.

Another quilt at the show was a spool charm quilt where each of the spools was made with a different fabric. This quilt won a viewer's choice award because quilters' are apparently attracted to insanity. The judge did not give it an award because she could see the back.

The seahorse quilt also made its debut at the show.

Zippers

 Yesterday I pulled out a bin of about a gazillion and five zipper blocks. (This is also a inspiration from Lynn Dykstra's blog and her series of solid and pattern blocks). The blocks are so fun to make, I went a bit overboard in experimenting with color combinations. When I tried to put them together, I was blinded by the chaos. So I limited the range of hues a bit. While this seems like a good start, I think I might need to make some more blocks. . .

And while we're here...I found some pictures of Buddy and friends on an old iPod and was adding them to the photo library on my desktop computer (the device that you don't take with you). To be fair to Molly, that is the face I would have if my brother licked my face.

And here's Buddy with his other sister Cyclone...this was back when the kittens were fosters named by the shelter as Typhoon (Buddy), Cyclone and Hurricane (Molly). Cyclone was the only kitten that wasn't a foster failure. She was adopted the same day I returned her after socialization.

Here's Buddy providing a visual commentary on the construction of Bonnie Hunter's Idaho Square Dance.

And here's Buddy with an incredible impersonation of Buddy.

Postage Due

 My last plan for this quilt was to make 16 by 16 patch blocks and then arrange them, until I had another plan that was to just put it together and call it finished. So let's call this quilt top finished. I had a momentary lapse where I thought maybe it needed a border...maybe some quiet space and then more postage stamps. But then I remembered that although its on the small side (finished stamp size is .75 inches), it weighs as much as a large quilt. 

Despite a bright sunny day, I had quite a bit of trouble taking a good photo of this quilt top.  Sometimes my camera does a better job, but this time I went with the phone. (I would not have understood this sentence for most of my life.)

Here is a close up.

It's seeing the close ups that remind me what fun this quilt top was to make.

And here is a reminder to savor the quiet moments.

Vintage Plaid Quilt Top

 

Here is the finished quilt top using the plaid (and some striped) shirts that I had deconstructed then stored. Over on Lynn Dykstra's blog Klein Meisje Quilts, she shows how to make this quilt based on a vintage quilt block she found on another blog. You can read all about it here. She used slightly larger strips than I did. I used 1.5 inch strips and the block finishes at 11 inches.

Of course, once you finish a quilt top, it is very easy to unfinish it by deciding it needs a border. So let's change this quilt top's status to unfinished. But at least its off the design wall.

Molly wanted to demonstrate the importance of holding down the ruler firmly to ensure accurate cuts and I wanted to demonstrate the importance of removing cats from the cutting table before cutting fabric. 

And, of course, as I was finishing up the quilt top (that is, unfinishing it) I saw this eye candy show up in this weeks listing of estate sales. 

A Foolish Post?

 So believe it or not, the sewing machine is humming again with minimal interference, I mean, supervision from Molly. These are all the components arranged in the final block arrangement. I have had this quilt on my want to do list for quite a while and I was in the mood for plaids, so here we are. I will go into the origins and inspiration for this quilt in a later post...but Molly has concerns about the downfall of humanity...

Molly originally had high hopes for AI and expected all references to cat to refer to her as the most intelligent and beautiful cat in the universe. But now, she, along with the rest of us are horrified by the deluge of AI slop creeping into our daily lives.

Molly was horrified to see this disfigured cat with a triangle on the wrong side of the face and no mustache! How is this even allowed? (I have to say the look of distain saying "get that camera out of my face" is quite realistic!)

I personally am more concerned about the implications of the photo. Must we insist that our clothes come fresh out of the dryer covered in cat hair? I guess I preferred the old times when the cat had to apply fur directly by sitting on a person or rubbing against them. Sigh.

Molly's Rebuttal

Please disregard the rumblings of my befuddled staff. I am an overlord, so I certainly would never consider being an adult as well. A complete contradiction.

Meanwhile, I would like to thank you for all the kind, loving comments you left about my brother. Although Buddy was too soft with his staff management style, I did appreciate his backup support when I was getting my beauty sleep.

I've noticed that staff is taking advantage of my nap time to use the sewing machine. She  is trying to finish sewing the mini postage stamps into the bigger blocks so she can have the design wall available for other things. She says the sewing is easy enough, but twirling the seams slows things down a bit.

Here's the back with the twirled seams. And please don't mention the obvious glaring mistake. Staff can say some very mean things when offered constructive advice from a kitten. So just know that she knows, has no plans to fix it, and tiptoe away if you can.

Meanwhile, did you know that I can find a wool ironing mat no matter where you try to hide it?