Today is the last day for green at the Rainbow Scrappy Challenge. I thought I would forgo another day of green, and have a large mouse roundup instead. I enjoy seeing others pull together their rainbow of progress, so I might as well have fun here at home.

Not everyone approves.

As part of the HSTeria Quilt Along, here's my progress on the Ocean Waves quilt. I have my 4X4 sets and triangle sets completed and ready to lay out.

And speaking of laying out, now that it's sun bathing season, Tommy wanted to demonstrate how careful tail placement can be both stylish and modest.

You were going to be shown some of the blooming mountain laurel that is painting the woods. Yawn.

And some peonies. Zzzzzz.

Thank goodness I'm here to show you some thoughtful intensity. You're welcome!

Oops.

I've been feeling like I have been swimming upstream lately, and well, I have been thinking a lot about water. So today we're having fish. Green fish. Because green is the color of the month at the Rainbow Scrappy Challenge. I was tempted to change to the color brown, because that is the color of my water after my well pump died and was replaced.

I also used to make fish quilts as a standard baby gift. This one was made some time in the 80s. And yes, the two fish at the top are smoking...but I don't remember why. And given this is an old quilt, this is an old picture taken with a polaroid...and not in a cool, retro way.

I thought the green fish might also qualify for the HSTeria Quilt Along, except really those are all faux half square triangles. So instead I'll show some of the new HSTs I've made using the Easy Angle. These will be part of the Ocean Waves quilt.

The large mice have taken their revenge. They added new segments to the improv quilt and retitled it "Cats Pushing Up Tulips." I hope the Kaffe cats aren't missed too much. Tommy thinks this is just gratuitous violence masquerading as bad art. He also thinks it's to blame for the small earthquake that just rattled Central Virginia.

I came home today to find this on the design wall. Tommy says its "Improv with fish and crane" inspired by the new cat. Remind me to lock up my rotary cutter when I leave the house.

Uh-oh! Tommy caught a new cat sneaking around in the sewing room!

Tommy is not amused! He wants to know if anyone is going to claim this cat. Anyone? Anyone? Mystic quilter?

Despite last week's influx of green kittens, a flock of green origami cranes have arrived in the sewing room. They arrived just in time to participate in the Rainbow scrappy challenge.

Here's the whole flock.

My cat Tommy has decided to participate by posing in front of a window with spring's green on display in the background.

Here's my progress on the Ocean Waves quilt. I am putting it together with two blocks...one all HSTs and the other is the large green square tipped on the diagonal with corners added. I spent some time this week cutting more batik fabric to add to this quilt...making more HSTs (not with bias strips!) and triangles for the corners. And this week I don't know whether I'm linking to Vicki W.'s HSTeria quilt along or her wet wood drag-a-thon.

I can finally move forward. I finished slicing the half-square triangles from the 18 bias strip panels. This is not a method I would ever recommend. I did pull some more fabric to add to the ocean waves quilt because I don't think this will be enough. I will also need some triangles, but I can pull them from this project's debris field.

Here's the final photograph of the Quilt of Valor that I finally finished and sent off on Friday. For this quilt I used the pattern Sliced from Amy Ellis' Modern Neutrals book, although I adapted it to make a rectangular quilt instead of a square.

This is the look of shattered dreams...

A Kaffe kitten? That must mean...

Yes, the mother cat has come to visit from Mystic Quilter's blog.  Well, at least this cat has shown some restraint.

Or maybe not! And this is odd. Is this month Kaffe Fassett or green? Or Kaffe Fassett green? You'll have to visit the Super Scrappy Rainbow challenge to find out.

We're still working on the Ocean Waves quilt as part of Vicki W.'s HST quilt along.  I decided to finally sew together some of the HSTs although I still have 15 panels of bias cut strips to cut apart into HSTs. Zzzzzzz.

Meanwhile, lady slippers are throwing a party out in the woods.

I've been uncharacteristically productive lately although without much to show. I finished machine quilting and binding the QOV. And I made the presentation case (aka pillow case). This means I might even get the whole QOV package in the mail tomorrow if I play my cards right.

While I was making the QOV case, I decided to make a pillow case out of one of the fabrics I snow-dyed during one of our many snow falls. This was the fabric that I folded wrong...so instead of getting a circular burst, I got two half circles.

Oh my! Look at what I received in the mail today for participating in Vicki W.'s HSTeria Quilt-along and winning her weekly drawing. But I'm confused! I was expecting to receive half-square triangles! But she knows I'm also participating in the Scrappy Rainbow challenge so that must be why she sent me such a lovely package of mouse pelts and kitten fur. 

A big green mouse has joined the Scrappy Rainbow challenge.

And, of course, there is no such thing as a mouse. So the babies are always quick to follow.

And now we know where brown mice come from.

Here's my progress on the half-square triangles (HSTs). First, I found the Bias Square for cutting out the HSTs from the bias strips. I think I remember why I abandoned this project so many millions of years ago. Quite tedious. And I've already done the sewing!

Happily, the HSTs gave me motivation to finish machine quilting this QOV. Next step is the binding.